Princess Crowns and Butterfly Clips
by Am I even still here
Summary: From royal palaces to cold caves, how exactly did Terra's life play out? Inspired by the original comic books and Teen Titans Go! This story tells the tale of Tara Markov, the girl who became Terra, from birth to death.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: The Teen Titans are owned by DC Comics and Cartoon Network.

**Author's Note: Yes, that's right. I am alive. When was the last story I posted on here? 2006? 2007? Horrible years, yet I wouldn't change them for the world. Anyways, this story is my version on Terra's life. This is her origin story, her perspective during the show and a continuation of the Terra II story-arc (aka the School-Girl). This story will have aspects from the comic books but it will also be unique to the AS!Universe because the two Terra's are very different.**

**In the comics, Tara Markov was the child of the King of Markovia and an American woman. To avoid a scandal, the King sent Tara away. Yet, in the TTG! version of her origin story told from her brother Geo-Force's point of view, she lived in the castle up to when she ran away. If you combine both those stories together, you can easily come to the conclusion that AS!Terra was the result of an affair but one that the Queen was having. This makes it harder for the royal family to just have her deported and be done with it.**

**I also realise that seeing as how this story is about Terra, I will have to put in some Beast Boy x Terra romance when the time comes. I'm actually really looking forward to this despite being a fervent BB x Rae fan (which this fic will allude to). Meh, I'm just glad I'm writing about the show, where BB x Terra was actually cute. Their short-lived romance in the comics made me want to gag. I was SO cheering Gar on when he went all out on BL Terra and ripped her to SHREDS...harsh but the girl deserved it and she already died so…**

***shakes fist in the air***

**Last note, I was iffy on whether I should have kept Gregor in. To my knowledge, he wasn't that important in the comics and he was cut out of the AS/comic storyline all together. Luckily, I came up with a way to show how come Gregor wasn't in that little flashback where Brion and Tara are standing before the King.**

**Actually, last-last note, people don't speak English in Markovia…so remember, although the dialogue is in English, that's not actually what they're saying. It's just the translation from Romanian to English.**

**I've blabbered on enough, just enjoy the prologue!**

* * *

_My name is Terra, and I have done horrible things._

_I have sworn to serve a dark master._

_I have obeyed his every command and committed crimes in his name._

_I have betrayed and attacked everyone who used to be my friend._

_One by one, I have destroyed the Teen Titans._

_And with no one left to stop me...I have brought an entire city to its knees._

_My name is Terra. I have done horrible things._

_And I have absolutely no regrets._

* * *

Word has spread.

The queen of Markovia is expecting a child, and today, she delivers.

"It is a boy," the people say, "the Queen and King have named him Gregor."

Gregor of Markovia.

Heir to the throne.

It is not long before the whispering rears its head once more. It's the same gossip, but there are more lies. Some even believe that the birth will not come, that the pregnancy is just a lie, others prepare for the birth of a girl but no-

"Brion Markov has just been born."

Brion of Markovia.

For the royal family, life remains well for a time, both princes are born healthy and fit and the bond between king and queen could not be stronger. Yet, there is something ominous in the air and the clouds loom over Markov castle as a warning that not all is what it seems, and their bliss cannot and will not last for long.

After all, as every member of the Markov family should know, things change.

* * *

"Did you hear the news," the bartender asked as he rubbed the dirt from an empty glass cup. It was nearing sundown in Markovia and the most desperate of men had already crowded the local bar, which was called '_Pisica E Ochiul_' or _'The Cat's Eye_' when translated into English.

The man that he was speaking to looked up from his drink and replied in a slightly slurred voice, "yea, the Queen, she be pregnant again, eh? That'll be the third one in the past five years, if I-I'm right."

"Yea, that's right. One second, more whisky sir?" He filled a cup of whisky and handed it to another customer before turning back to the man at the counter, "I thought the King said that two sons would be enough. I mean, they just need one male heir to continue the monarchy, and Gregor's what? Four years old now?"

"Ya, but who's to say King Victor had any say in," the man hiccupped, "it? My buddy works up at the castle, says that Queenie's been sneaking off couple o' times, sneakin' so-someone in too. An' always when the King's busy with some'ing else."

"You're not saying that-"

"Hey, whattadoino? Just sayin' something fishy's going down 'ere. I'm starting to think that-that if a baby is comin', it ain't no bonafide prince."

The bartender nodded and continued to clean the cup. In a mutter, he added, "or princess..."

* * *

With that, the rumours surrounding the royal birthing begin again, but this time it is different, the gossip is fiercer, and this time, it is not a lie.

Old ladies huddle around boiling tea discussing the accusations of a royal affair, reporters relish in their payment from selling the news to tabloids and every woman looks at their lover in suspicion, could he be her majesty's dirty little secret?

Despite this, life continues, and the third child born to the Markov monarchy grows. The rumours strengthen too, for there is no proof in her appearance as to who her father could be. The girl is beautiful, she is her mother in miniature, and nothing in her features clearly resemble the king nor any other man.

The royal advisor fears that the controversy around the girl will cause too much media for their small country to handle. He warns the royal family of the possibilities and quickly offers them an easy solution. Markovia is known for their hold on science and medicine, and the simple procedure of a DNA test should determine the child's true paternal heritage. Yet, the king refuses. He says that he trusts his wife, and that he is, without a doubt in his mind, the father. In truth, it is because the king is too proud and too confident to consider the thought of the queen betraying him. He believes too strongly in the queen's loyalty, in her love, and in her fear.

News of his refusal spreads like wildfire, and more people are convinced that the child is not truly a part of the Markov family line. Finally, when the child nears her second birthday, the king surrenders. He calls for a press conference, and informs them that a paternity test has been done and he has been tested positive with the girl. The people quiet down and many believe the king without a second's thought. A few are still wary but in their silence, it is impossible to set them apart from the others.

Yet...it was another lie. No such test existed, but false records were printed to back the King's claims. The king is still blinded by his own thoughts and feelings to actually go through with the test. As for the queen? She nods along, lying through gritted teeth.

She holds her baby in her arms, stroking the blonde tuft of hair upon the child's head.

Her child.

Her baby.

Her Tara.

Tara of Markovia.


	2. Chapter One: Apple Crumble

_Disclaimer: Teen Titans belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. I'm just a sixteen year old girl who was experiencing nostalgia and is back on an old obsession._

**Author's Note: This chapter takes place when Terra is seven years old meaning that she is still just **_**Tara**_**. I know that some parts of the chapter may be OOC, but see, I think the younger Terra had WAY different problems than the ones she had during the show. In fact, she was a whole other person. Geo-Force says in issue #51 of the Teen Titans Go! Comics (which is based on the show) that Tara had issues with authority. Being a princess meant that she ALWAYS had people to tell her what to do. I reference this in this chapter. The main problem for Terra right now, however, is that she feels like she doesn't belong. You also see that she still has that insecurity during the show, so I'm not off the mark there.**

**Poor AS Terra. What, did you expect me to feel sorry for the comic book version?**

**Okay, so should I shut up now? Fine. Enjoy the chapter!**

**

* * *

**

Tara winced at her reflection and pulled at a corner of the pink dress that had been forced upon her. She twirled around and faced her nanny, "do I really have to wear this?"

Mrs. Vichkanova, a stern looking woman in her late sixties, tutted at the princess. "Of course you have to wear it, Princess Tara! I do not see why you continue to object to these lovely dresses. Many girls would kill to be in your position...sometimes I think you should have been born a boy. You definitely act like one."

Tara ignored the comment and stared at the mirror with contempt. She scrunched up her nose, "it's too frilly."

"Then," the nanny asked, "what is it you would prefer to wear?"

Tara walked over to her closet and considered the selection of dresses. She crossed her arms together and turned around, "none of 'em, I don't like any of 'em." Pouting, she proclaimed, "I wanna dress like a normal person!"

Mrs. Vichkanova pursed her lips, "what have I told you, princess, about speaking properly? You are a royal, not a common ruffian, and you should be proud of that."

"Maybe I want to be a common ruffian," Tara mumbled under her breath.

"I beg your pardon?"

Tara tugged on one of the dresses, "the purple one...I'll wear this one."

* * *

Tara walked down one of Markov castle's many corridors with her two brothers in tow. She stayed in step with Brion, who was entertaining her with simple yet funny jokes. Tara giggled at his antics; he was currently mimicking the prince of Galonia's amusedly low and gravelly voice. It was routine that after every royalty related event that they were forced to attend, they would find something to make fun of afterwards.

Gregor, her oldest brother, pushed his way between his siblings and sped down the corridor. He paid the other two little heed, something she had slowly grown to accept of Gregor during the past year. His shoulders were squared and his hands dug into his pockets. Unlike Brion, who had mussed up his hair as soon as they had been excused, Gregor's blond hair lay perfectly matted down on his head. Gregor was merely eleven years old, but was already facing pressure from their parents because he was first in line to become ruler of Markovia. Their father, in particular, had begun to push more responsibility his way ("princely duties," he had said) and somewhere along the way, Gregor had become more serious and reserved. He distanced himself from Brion and Tara and, besides a few exceptions like fencing, had stopped playing games with them. The few times he spoke to Terra was to either yell at her, tell her to stop acting like a baby, or to discuss 'royal matters'.

Brion yawned and commented in his own voice, "I'm glad that's over. I could really use some sleep!"

Tara nodded and replied simply, "yea, I'm so tired." While her two brothers had drifted apart and her relationship with Gregor seemed almost non-existent, the bond between Brion and Tara had grown stronger the past year. Brion was just nine, but was already filling the protective older brother role perfectly.

Brion's expression turned grave and he asked cautiously, "I heard you and Ms. _Witch_kanova fighting before, what was that about?"

Tara covered her mouth to hide the unladylike snort of laughter and replied, "nothing. Girl stuff, you wouldn't get it."

Brion shrugged, "okay, whatever you say, but you better watch it with her. She can be pretty mean, you know?"

"She _is_ my nanny, isn't she?"

"Not for very long and- never mind, I just get worried about you, Tara."

"Yea, I know."

"Sorry, I know you can handle yourself."

"And don't you forget it, _bub_!"

Tara hit him lightly on the shoulder and bounded forward, making sure to stay a safe distance away from Gregor. She saw Brion wince and place his hand over the spot, "ow!" He ran after her and called out, "maybe she was right. You should have been born a boy!"

She stuck out her tongue at him and retorted, "maybe I should have been! This family only needs one girl, anyway..."

"Tara!"

She hit him again, this time on the other shoulder.

"That'll teach you to listen in on private conversations!"

"Tara!"

"Brion!"

"Taaaara!"

"Briooooooooon!"

Many of their conversations were light and childish, a change of pace from their demeanour in presence of their parents or other adults. Brion shooed her away, "there's your door, big mouth. You better get to bed before curfew starts!"

Tara swung her bedroom door open and skipped inside. She turned her head and said, "turn the light on, please. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gregor and Brion were both leaning against the doorframe but Gregor was the only one who was actually able to reach the light switch. His hand made a jerking movement and the light-bulb hanging in the middle of the ceiling turned on with a faint snap. His hand rested on the switch for a few more seconds before mumbling a quick, "good night sister," and storming out of the room.

Brion bowed dramatically and, in the same funny accent as the prince of Galonia, said, "haff a go'od naht, Tara."

"'Night Brion…" she yawned as he waved and slammed the door shut behind him. Now alone in her room, she sadly added, "nighty-night, Gregor."

She struggled to remove the purple dress and put on her night gown. Straightening the hem of her pyjamas, she shot the frilly pile on the floor a satisfactory smile. "Dumb dress," she scoffed as she threw it into her hamper. She walked up to her dresser and proceeded to untie the band holding her hair up. When she was done, she hopped up and smacked the light switch off, slipped into her bed and closed her eyes.

* * *

She was flying.

The sky was a brilliant hue of blue and there were no clouds in sight. Her arms were outstretched in front of her and her hair flowed wildly in the crisp Spring air. Tara didn't question the situation; she just kept laughing and relishing the feeling of the wind against her skin. At that moment, she was not a princess with endless responsibilities. There was no one to tell her what to do or what to say, or even tell her who she was supposed to be. There was only the sky and her.

Tara suddenly realised that she was gripping on to something in each hand. She was baffled, suddenly wondering as to what she was holding and why she was even in the sky in the first place, but the giggles continued to involuntarily pour out of her mouth and she remained afloat. With effort, she grazed her thumb over one of the object and felt its rough touch. She tried to bring the objects closer to her face but an invisible force was keeping her arms stiff and spread.

She began to panic internally and forced herself to loosen her hold on the objects. Suddenly, she felt the strength needed to bring her hands to eye-level. As though she had pulled some sort of trigger, the moment that she pulled her arms forward, her jaw clamed shut and her whole body seemed to freeze. The sky darkened and she felt raindrops falling down on her in spades. Her vision began to blur but she managed to see the objects in front of her; they were oddly shaped rocks with jagged edges. Her fingers slipped completely and the rocks fell, dropping to the earth below. When they were no longer visible, she heard the flash of lightning, and she started falling as well.

She started to scream, trying to find the will to fly again.

"HELP ME!"

Her pleas went unanswered and she continued to fall. The echo of thunder mocked her and lightning rung in her ears.

With a gasp, Tara sat up in her bed while cold sweat trickled down her forehead. She tasted the salt water from the tears rolling down her cheeks and chin, and realised that she was crying. "Just...a dream," she assured herself in a whimper but it failed to make her feel any better. The nightmare had felt so real; the sensation of freedom, the endless sky and when she thought everything was perfect, everything came crashing down around her. Lately all her dreams had been of this sort, and she was not sure what to make of it. She brought her knees closer to her chest and furiously rubbed her eye until it was swollen.

"I want my mommy," her voice cracked, "I want my daddy." With that, her sobbing became harder and more pronounced.

Most children, after having a nightmare, would crawl into their parents' bed with them, seeking comfort and closeness. Tara was not able to have the commodity. For security purposes, she was not allowed to leave her bedroom after curfew. She was a prisoner in her own castle and she would always be one. She was still falling, and she would never be able to fly away. She curled up in foetal position and cried herself back to sleep.

* * *

Tara gaped at her father, unsure if she could really believe him. Brion seemed mildly surprised but that soon morphed into an expression of pure excitement.

"Thank you father," he said, keeping his tone even.

"You will leave in half an hour. Mr. Platov and Ms. Vichkanova will accompany you and, naturally, there will be a group of guards escorting you for security reasons."

'_Naturally_," Tara thought cynically back to her reoccurring nightmare. For a mere moment, she felt frantic and the feeling of being trapped enveloped her. She still managed to put up a small smile, "of course, Father, thank you." She bent down and curtsied politely. Her father nodded, and turned back to Brion.

"Take care of your sister, son."

Brion nodded, and bowed just as Tara had curtsied, "I will, father."

The two were dismissed and just like the night before, they found themselves walking down the corridors of the castle. They didn't speak a word to each other and when they reached her door, Tara didn't even bother so much as a good-bye to her brother. She ran into her room and locked the door with a resounding click. A happy squeal escaped her lips as she collapsed on her bed, barely noticing that she was creating wrinkles on the perfectly made sheets. She didn't worry about it anyways, she liked having things messy and either way, a maid would clean any mess in her room.

'_What can I do to get ready_?' Tara pondered, cocking her head over to the closet. She leapt over and after ten minutes of deliberation, she selected one of her most simple-looking dresses and laid it out carefully on her bed. She smoothed down the green material and put it on slowly. All she owned were dresses, something that Tara had always felt uncomfortable in, and she could not help but wonder: would it draw any attention to her?

Ms. Vichkanova had told her numerous times that she was special to be wearing these sort of dresses, which would mean that most girls her age would not dress this way. They would see her and think she was weird and different, that she considered herself above them. Tara's bottom lip quivered; how could she even be sure that would happen? Tara did not know what others were like. As a princess, the only children close to her age she interacted with were her brothers and visiting royalty; she didn't even attend school, having some of the best private tutors in Europe. Tara had never been given the chance to belong and she doubted that when she did, she would be able to. In some senses, her lineage proved to be more of a curse than a blessing.

She had not expected her father's announcement, in fact, when the Royal Advisor had interrupted Brion and Gregor's fencing match to tell them that the King wished to speak with the two youngest Markov children, she had expected that they were in trouble. She mainly assumed that because Gregor had not been called. Her brother did ask why the King only wanted to see Brion and Tara, but Sergei merely said that the King had another job for Gregor. Once they had been announced in His Majesty's presence, King Viktor had told them that he had planned an outing for them to visit one of Markovia's cities. She had never been outside the castle's walls except for the small property surrounding it. Unlike her, Brion had visited surrounding cities before, as had Gregor. Last time her father had announced such a trip, she had been too young and was not allowed to go. That was one of the reasons why she was so excited for this opportunity and why she was determined to make it count.

She grabbed a green headband from her dresser and placed it on her head. Running a hand through her golden locks, questions kept running through her mind. She looked nice, but did that matter? Would it be too much or too little? What was civilian clothing, exactly? What would happen if the people knew she was a princess, anyway? All of this confused her, and it bothered her immensely. She yearned to see how common...normal...people dressed, how they spoke and how they acted. She knew a bit from her books, but she did not know what was fiction and what was not.

She stood there lost in her own thoughts until a noise from out in the hall snapped her out of her reverie. With a gasp, she ran out of her bedroom, realising she was most likely late for the trip.

"There you are, Princess! Hurry, the limousine is waiting," Ms. Vichkanova said hurriedly. The nanny grabbed her wrist, giving Tara little time to react, and pulled her along. "The Prince is already ready and-"

Tara blocked out the rest of the rant, '_a limousine? So much for blending in_.' She exhaled noisily and let her nanny lead her down a flight of stairs.

"What you were doing in that room, I will never know and another thing, I- oh, we're here. Well, get in, girl."

She let go of Tara's wrist and pointed at the open door of the black limousine. Tara climbed in, giving the chauffeur a funny look as he shut the door behind her. Brion was sitting across from her, boredly twiddling his fingers. When he noticed her, he groaned dramatically and said, "about time, what were you doing?"

"Nothing, getting ready," Tara answered with a shrug.

"I've been waiting for practically an hour," he responded with a slight huff. Brion was actually rarely upset and he was unusually very patient for a young boy. So, whenever he sulked or groaned, Tara knew it was all just for fun and he meant nothing by it. So, she just gave him a small smile.

"Sorry, I guess I didn't pay attention to the time," Tara replied honestly, "I'm just really excited about this. I've never been to a city before."

"We're going to Bzoq, the city Gregor and I went to last time. It's a nice place and Mother said that we would be going to meet an old friend of Father's who owns a bakery that serves cake, pie and _many_ other desserts," Brion explained, "and they'll let us walk around the block...just as long as we don't run away or get lost or anything like that."

"Wow," Tara breathed, "it all sounds great...I hope everything goes well!"

"Me too," Brion said, "but don't worry, it will!"

As soon he said that, Tara immediately brightened up. Brion was always good at calming both her rational and irrational worries. "Thanks," she said, "wait, what are you wearing?" She had just taken a second to look at Brion's clothing; he was wearing an orange shirt over a long sleeved white one and strange looking pants with many pockets.

"Oh, I bought this in Bzoq," he said, "why?"

She looked down at her green dress and had to restrain herself from crying. Last time she had worn this dress, Brion had been dressed in a white jacket with attached gold epaulets and cuffs, maroon slacks and a gold jacquard sash. If he had bought this outfit for Bzoq, that meant one thing about what she was wearing.

"My clothes...they're too fancy," she sniffled, "I won't belong. I'll be different."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and heard her brother's comforting words, "you look fine. No one will care what you're wearing, you'll see."

Tara wiped away the tears from her cheeks, "yea? O-Okay...sorry for crying."

"No problem," Brion smiled.

"I'm such a baby," Tara whispered, now angry at herself, '_why do I care so much about what people think_?'

Brion eyed her with pity and opened his mouth to say something. Before he could, their chaperones and security climbed in and the limousine moved with a jerk. Tara swayed slightly to the side from the aftershock but steadied herself quickly. Seeing that she and Brion would not be able to hold a solid conversation in front of the two 'nannies' or the stoic-faced security guards, she slid to the other side of the limousine and rested her head on the window, watching the blurry landscape zoom by. She remained in that position for a long time, and somewhere along the way, her eyelids started to droop.

She was woken from her sleep by something shaking her. She grunted and pushed the thing away, reaching instead for her silk pillow, hopeful to return to her peaceful slumber.

"Tara! Wake up, we're here."

"W-where's my pillow," she mumbled under her breath, grasping at cold leather. She opened one eye hastily and the face of her brother immediately came to view.

"Brion? Where are we?"

"Bzoq! Now c'mon, they've made some pastries special for our visit."

"Bzoq," Tara repeated softly as the memories of the day came back to her. She snapped up and asked, "why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

Brion stumbled out of the car and replied, "I tried to wake you up a while ago when we got to the city lines, but you were out cold."

Tara stretched her arms over her head and yawned heavily, "well, I'm awake now so let's go!"

She followed Brion out of the car and looked around eagerly. The limousine was parked awkwardly in a street corner parking lot. Behind them, there was a line-up of outlet stores and restaurants. She looked the other way, seeing many cars on the streets. Most were going really fast (in fact, if any vehicle was going slow, the car behind them would honk loudly). There was also an array of pedestrians bustling about on their daily business. Those who noticed the limousine looked their way curiously. Brion gripped Tara's hand and led her into a homely looking bakery at the center of the line-up. There were two guards planted on each side of the door who nodded their heads as the royal children passed. A tiny bell ring from somewhere above when the door opened and a strong yet sweet smell enveloped her senses.

"There they are," Ms. Vichkanova said, "come here children."

Brion and Tara walked over to the small group and the woman pointed at the man behind the counter, "this is Augustus Sidorov. He was the son of the royal chef when your father was the crowned prince." Tara waved at Augustus; he was her father's age but there were no physical similarities between the two. Unlike her father, he was plump and had rosy cheeks. Tufts of blonde hair stuck out from underneath a chef's hat and he sported a light-coloured moustache. He was radiating joy like a light and held himself with a certain grace that not even a king could have.

"Those were the days," Augustus chortled, "look at you two! Brion, I haven't seen you since you were a baby." Brion's face reddened with embarrassment. "-And you! Princess Tara, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting!"

Tara smiled toothily, "nice to meetcha!"

Augustus guffawed again and turned to Mr. Platov, "she's the spitting image of her mother." Mr. Platov nodded mutely (now that Tara thought about it, she had never heard him speak before), and Ms. Vichkanova sucked in her cheeks.

"Everyone says that," Tara commented chirpily.

"I bet so," Augustus replied, "it's true." There was an unfamiliar glint in his eyes. He ushered the chaperones to the back-room, "now, come on back everyone. You kids choose what you want to eat, okay?"

Tara pressed her nose to one of the display cases, "everything looks delicious."

Brion immediately pointed at a platter, "can I have some blueberry pie, sir?" Augustus grabbed a knife, cut a slice off the pie and placed it on a small plate.

Tara licked her lips and scanned through the pastries, jabbing her finger to the glass once one caught her eye. "What are those?" she asked, looking at the unknown pastry.

"Those are danishes. Which one do you want?"

Tara considered for a second and then pointed at a random one.

"Glazed Apple? Good choice."

Tara watched as Augustus picked up two of the danishes and put them on another plate. He took both plates to the back and gestured for the two children to follow. There was table set, and Mr. Platov and Ms. Vichkanova were already silently eating in their seats. The room was white and besides the table and a few chairs, it was bland and empty. Tara also noticed a staircase leading to the second floor.

"Do you live here by yourself?"

Ms. Vichkanova gave her a warning glare, "Tara! Manners!"

Tara ducked her head, "sorry."

"No, it's all right. I live in the flat upstairs, yes, but I don't live alone...my nephew is staying here with me. His parents, well, passed on, and he needs a place to stay at."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Brion said apologetically after swallowing a piece of his pie.

There was a jingle from the store-front and the sound of footsteps coming closer. "Uncle! I got the dry cleaning just like you asked," a voice called out.

"Back here, Junior!"

Augustus' nephew was tall and lean with wavy blonde hair that ended at his chin. He was, if Tara had to guess, in his early twenties. When he saw Augustus' visitors, his mouth clenched and a vein protruded on his forehead.

"You didn't-" he stuttered, glaring over at Augustus who immediately lost his smile.

Augustus kept his voice calm, "this is Prince Brion and Princess Tara."

"I know who...I mean," he bowed stiffly in Brion's direction, "Prince Brion, welcome to my home." Tara expected him to turn to her next, but instead he growled, "Uncle, may I speak to you for a second?" He stormed up the steps and was followed swiftly by his uncle.

* * *

"You didn't tell me that they would be here!"

Augustus flinched, "I was actually hoping you wouldn't come back until after they left."

"I was just at the Laundromat! How long did you think I would be there for?" His nephew crossed his arms, "I'm just surprised at you, Uncle. The girl-"

"That girl," Augustus interrupted, "is the _princess_, and the daughter of an old friend."

Junior was silent for a second before chuckling darkly, "I thought you were only friends with King Viktor."

"Junior!" Augustus warned.

"You believe it as much as I do...you know that the girl isn't actually a princess..."

"That doesn't matter. As long as she's here, she's a guest...you don't want me to throw her out just because she's the result of an affair, do you?"

Junior hesitated, "well, no, I don't mean that...but...I just don't like it."

"And you think I do?" Augustus replied, pointing at himself in exasperation, "when I found about Queen Anna's affair, I tried to stop it! I even tried telling Viktor about it but he didn't believe me. Even when Tara was born a year later, Viktor still didn't want to believe that she wasn't his kid."

"So...you want me to- I don't know, suck it up?"

"Just try, Junior. It's not her fault and you know that."

"Fine. I'll t-"

Tara jumped away as if the door had burnt her. Her ear had just been pressed upon the door, listening in to most of the conversation. She edged away, one step a time, her arms were outstretched defensively slightly in front of her. Her whole body felt numb and her mind felt blank but she could still feel her watering eyes and notice how they were making everything around her seem blurry and strange. She shakily walked down the stairs and back to the table.

'_I don't understand_.'

"Hey Tara, did you find the bathroom all right?"

She slid back into her chair and nodded. Not able to look up to meet Brion's gaze, she stared at her plate and poked the remaining Danish with her finger.

"_Viktor still didn't want to believe that she wasn't his kid."_

The hand resting on her lap curled into a fist.

"Yea...I found it."

* * *

**I hate the name of the random city. Bzoq. What is that about? Might as well have called the city: Place-holder. At least that would have been funny. Not to mention an awesome iCarly reference. **

**Galonia is a small European country in the DCU. At one point, it becomes controlled by the pre-crisis Earth-Two version of Lex Luthor. Fortunately, during Crisis On Infinite Earths, Alexei Luthor is erased from continuity and he is not remembered by anyone on New Earth- so Galonia was never under Luthor control!**


	3. Chapter Two: Secrets

_Disclaimer: The Markov family is property of DC Comics and Terra also belongs to Cartoon Network despite the show having been cancelled almost five years ago. Yes, I am bitter. Sue me. Well, don't, seeing as how that would render this whole disclaimer redundant…_

**Author's Note: Don't worry, we're getting to when Terra gets her powers soon. However, right now, it's just a big family soap opera. I know the Markov kids must seem older than their real ages, but I think that growing up the way they were, they probably matured faster in some ways. They're still kids though, and sometimes they let that show- like in this chapter! Well, enough of me, on to chapter two!**

_**This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer: MissElectricCarousel! You rock!**_

* * *

After she had sat back down at the table, Tara had tried to push away her conflicting emotions. She had tried to fool everyone that she was all right, she had even forced herself to look at Brion while they were walking up the streets of Bzoq. However, as hard as she tried to hide the fact, she was not fine. She was devastated and confused at the turn of events. Tara wished she had never let curiosity lead her to eavesdrop on Augustus and Junior's discussion in the first place. In the course of five minutes, she had learnt that her mother had been unfaithful to her father, who, it turns out, actually isn't her father at all. Her two brothers, then, were only half-brothers and she was not a Markov either.

Brion wasn't fooled, and once they had gotten back to the castle, he confronted her.

"All right, tell me what the problem is."

Tara's shoulders tensed but she tried her hardest to remain stoic. "Who says there's a problem," her voice wavered.

"I can tell," he replied, "so what is it? Are you _mad_ at me?"

Tara bit her lip, unsure as how to respond. Her thin legs wobbled as she took a few steps back but she remained standing. "I-I'm not mad, Brion, I'm sorry, but I-I can't tell you. You wouldn't und-you wouldn't get it."

His reply was soft. "Girl stuff?"

"No," she mumbled, turning away, "Tara stuff."

With that, she started to run as fast as she could. She took the closest flight of stairs and sprinted down the steps, hoping to lose her brother. '_My half-brother_', she quickly corrected. She craned her head back, to ensure she was not being followed but when she did, she slammed into someone in front of her.

"Oof," Gregor winced. With fast reflexes, he caught Tara before she fell back.

"G-Gregor?"

"Why don't you watch where you're going," he asked angrily, "you could have hurt yourself!" He stopped, realising she was crying, "are you all right?"

"Yea, why-why wouldn't I be?"

Gregor shrugged, "well, you're crying..."

Tara growled and her blue eyes narrowed. She pushed him away and shouted, "SO? WHY DO YOU CARE? YOU AREN'T EVEN MY BROTHER!" Tara covered her mouth as soon as the words spat out of her mouth. Gregor was staring at her with a strange expression plastered on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed, creating a crease in his forehead, and his mouth hung open in the shape of a small 'o'. "I-I didn't mean...I'm sorry." She hung her head and her hair fell in front of her eyes.

"You know? About our mother?"

Tara's head snapped up in surprise, "yea, but how do you know?"

"I know because-"

"There you are!"

Both children turned to face Brion who immediately realised he had interrupted something.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," mumbled Tara, hoping that Brion would leave it that and that Gregor wouldn't say anything that would push the conversation forward. No luck. Her voice was barely noticeable underneath Gregor's answer.

"Tara found out about Mother. Do you know too?"

"Know what? What's wrong with her?" Brion was worried, most likely he thought that there was something wrong with their mother, that she was ill or in danger.

Gregor glanced side-ways in Tara's direction, "now that Tara knows, you should know too. Mother was having an affair...Tara is not our full sister…Father is not Tara's-"

If Tara had not seen it with her own eyes, she would not have believed what happened next. Brion's fist connected to Gregor's jaw, launching him to the floor. He towered over their older brother menacingly. His bared his teeth and in a calm voice, which surprisingly sounded scarier than any shout, said, "how can you even joke about things like that, about _mom_? Tara's just a little kid; how dare you lie to her like that?"'

Brion's fist raised again but just when he was about to strike, Tara positioned herself in front of Brion, "quit it! He's not lying!"

Brion's eyes widened and darted back and forth between his brother and sister. He lowered his fist and slumped backwards against the wall, the angry expression on his face deflated to shock and regret. Tara offered her hand to Gregor but he declined, standing up by himself. He was holding the bottom half of his face and Tara could clearly see droplets of blood running down the hand perched on his mouth.

"I thought I was the hard-headed child?"

Brion looked up at her through wide eyes, and replied in a raspy voice, "me too." He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, "I'm sorry."

Tara hugged back and mumbled, "I don't think I'm the one you need to say that to."

Gregor's muffled voice mumbled, "I think you chipped a tooth."

"I'm sorry," Brion repeated, running a shaky hand through his auburn hair. His mouth trembled and he added, "I don't know what came over me. So, you weren't lying?"

"You might not have reacted the way I thought you would, but what reason would I have to lie to you?" Gregor snapped through his covered jaw, raising his voice slightly.

Tara jabbed a finger at Gregor, "stop fighting! You're being stupid and it's not worth it!"

Brion crossed his arms. "We should get you help," he told Gregor, "you're bleeding and-"

"I know that," grunted Gregor, "it doesn't matter. Tara's wrong, this is worth it. We have to talk about this...now."

"Fine," Brion said, "then let's start with what exactly is going on."

Tara nodded, "yea, Gregor. How did you find out about Mother's," she paused, "secret?"

Gregor's hand was covered in dried blood when he lowered it from his mouth. Fortunately, his jaw had not been broken after all, but it too, was stained with splotches of brown blood. He closed his eyes, as if visualizing everything in his mind, and began to recall the story.

"It was months ago…"

"Months?" Tara repeated loudly, staring at him in shock. '_He knew all this time..._'

Gregor nodded, "I was in my room, getting ready to go to sleep...when I started hearing noises. At first, I tried to ignore them...but then I heard mom crying. My room is the closest to theirs, you know? Well, I decided to investigate."

"You broke curfew?"

Gregor glared at Brion, "they didn't see me but I saw them. Dad was," he shuddered, "beating mom. Slapping her, she was shaking...and he was yelling too. He was accusing her of something and I didn't really understand what he was talking about at first but then-"

* * *

"_I BELIEVED YOU!"_

_The Queen trembled from her curled up position on her and her husband's giant bed. The King was standing beside her, rage burning in his eyes as he looked down on the mother of his children, whose cheek was still red where he had hit her moments ago._

"_I __**TRUSTED**__ YOU! AFTER EVERYTHING, AFTER ALL THOSE RUMOURS SURROUNDING TARA, I STILL STAYED BY YOUR SIDE!" The King grabbed the woman by the roots of her hair and dragged her down to the floor, still screaming, "THEY WERE RIGHT! I'M NOT HER FATHER! YOU ACTUALLY WERE CHEATING ON ME! NOW, YOU'RE SAYING YOU-" he grabbed a lamp from their bedside table and shattered it against the wall, "YOU WANT A DIVORCE? YOU SLUT!" _

_The eleven year old boy watching the scene winced as his father slammed his mother's head down against the floor._

"_WHAT'S HIS NAME? TELL ME!"_

_The Queen whimpered, "John Davies. He's American and he-"_

"_SO YOU WANT TO RUN AWAY WITH HIM, DO YOU? YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN BEHIND AND GO RUN OFF WITH SOME AMERICAN?"_

_Not daring to look up from the ground, she whispered, "no. I'd take the children with me."_

_The King had not been expecting that answer. He stared at her incredulously and whispered some words under his breath that was very unbefitting for someone of his standards. Finally, he stood up and sat down on the bed, whispering, "you're delusional. They're my children too."_

"_Not Tara."_

_He jumped up again and practically spat on his wife, "SHUT THE HELL UP! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ANY OF THEM AWAY! IF YOU REALLY LOVE THEM, YOU'LL NEVER SEE THIS DAVIES AGAIN!"_

"_W-what?"_

"_It's simple, **my love**. As king, I could have you arrested for kidnapping the children. So? You will remain here, we will remain married, and the children will remain happy. There is a third option, you can **leave** with your precious John, but the children will stay here with me." He leered down at her, "they'll grow hating you as the mother who deserted them, who lied to them, and who didn't deserve them. Is that what you want? Dear?"_

_His voice was smug and he knew that he had her where he wanted her. The queen shook with sobs but still managed to propel herself to a kneeling position. _

"_I'll stay."_

"_Good. It's for the best."_

"_Yes, darling," came the hollow response._

" _We'll **never** speak of this again, will we?"_

"_No, darling, never again."_

* * *

Gregor finished his story with the same hollow tone as he described their mother having, "I couldn't watch anymore so I closed the door and ran back to my room. I didn't sleep that night and I couldn't stare at either of our parents for weeks. I couldn't even face you, Tara, not after that."

"I know what you mean," Tara said sadly, "I can't imagine having to keep that to yourself for this long. I just found out a little while ago and it took everything not to burst into tears."

"So that's why you were acting so strangely since the bakery," Brion said, mostly to himself.

Gregor added guiltily, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you two earlier. I was just...overwhelmed by everything."

"It's okay," the younger Markov children said in unison.

"I-I can't believe Father would do that to Mother," Tara whispered.

"We're so stupid," Brion growled, "how could we be so stupid? All of this going on in front of us and we didn't notice! We didn't-"

"Don't blame yourself," Gregor said, "there's nothing we could have done about it. It isn't any of our faults either, so don't even start with that."

Brion bit his lip and nodded, changing the subject, "how exactly did you find out, Tara?"

"Junior had a problem with me being at the bakery and Augustus tried to defend me, not that he really liked me either. They hate Mom for what she did to Dad. Augustus even tried telling him about it, but apparently, he didn't believe him and they had a giant fight about it. I hope he wasn't as bad as he was with Mom."

"So, when you went to the bathroom-" Brion began.

"Spying." Tara turned her attention to Gregor, "are you sure you don't want-"

"I'm fine," Gregor said albeit in a forced tone, "so now what do we do? Do we tell our parents?" He drew out the last word slowly; it suddenly felt dirty and wrong to say it, like any children felt with common swear words.

Tara shook her head, "I don't want to. They were the ones who kept this a secret from us and it'll just make them start fighting again." She wanted to suggest that they could forget, act as if they'd never found out or even completely block it out of their minds, but she didn't. Instead, she whispered, "maybe this can be our secret."

The two brothers exchanged a look before nodding in agreement. None of them spoke another word as the seconds dragged on, that is until, when out of nowhere, Gregor came forward and hugged Tara tightly. He whispered in her ear, "I know you have doubts about your place in the family but you ARE our sister and nothing's going to change that."

The sides of her mouth curled up in a small smile, "thank you, my brother."

* * *

**I was trying to wrap this part of the story up quickly. It needed to be put aside before Terra faces the next set of problems. I don't want the story to become overcrowded so I had to close the issue for now. It will be brought up continually throughout the story though.**


	4. Chapter Three: Protectors

_Disclaimer: I know why we put disclaimers up, but like most legal stuff, it doesn't really make sense. The website is about FANFICTION. Keyword: Fan! Shouldn't people understand that that means that no one is trying to take credit for anyone else's work? Sigh. Whatever. Teen Titans...blah blah...Cartoon Network...blah blah...DC Comics._

**Author's Note: I've got this entire story planned out. Start to finish, chapter to chapter. I give you my word I'm not going to quit writing until I'm finished. It's not going to be easy, as apparent from past stories. I've had bad luck ending what I've started in the past. I get an idea, start writing, get bored, and then get a new idea. It's an endless cycle of plot bunnies and disappointment. BUT...I will finish this story...I WILL! **

**I know one particular aspect of any story that pretty much everyone is interested in. Pairings. I know, it's way too early for that, seeing as Tara is still little...but I'm too excited! Romance isn't a major part of this story, but it will include a lot of pairings. The most prominent is Beast Boy/Terra, of course. Others include: pre-canon Robin/Starfire, hints of Beast Boy/Raven, very minor Kid Flash/Jinx, mentions of Kid Flash/Raven, Kid Flash/Magenta and Kid Flash/Terra and some Outsiders and Team Titans pairings too.**

**Speaking of couples, I have a small issue. Slade. I can't decide how I want to represent their relationship. Should I have it similar to as how it was in the comics? Should it just be as how it was face-value on the show? Part of me wants to go all the way and keep the Slade/Terra relationship. Another part of me retorts with, "ew! No way, that's gross!" Then I think, "but oddly intriguing." Sigh. When we get to Slade, I'll make the decision...but advice would be nice. There will also be a passing mention of Slade/Adeline and the rest of the Wilson family (Jericho, Ravager I, Ravager II, Ravager IV) but we won't meet any of them.**

* * *

Life was difficult for the Markov family during the following few weeks. Gregor had went to their parents about his chipped tooth but had orchestrated a cover that it had been the result of a nasty trip and fall while he had been exploring the grounds. King Viktor had sent him to a dentist who easily fixed the chip and since then, neither Brion or Gregor seemed eager to mention what really happened, if at all.

All three Markov children found themselves feeling differently about each other, their parents and themselves. Gregor was still serious and hot-headed, but since he finally revealed the secret he had been keeping, he had become more pleasant to be around. He seemed less reserved than usual, in fact, when Tara had asked her brothers if they wanted to play a game with her, it had been Gregor who volunteered. Tara always assumed that his frustrated -and frustrating- attitude was due to his role as the family heir. Perhaps his true stress came from harbouring their parent's secret.

Brion, who was usually the most easygoing of the siblings, had become extremely sensitive around their parents. For example, during one late-night dinner, everyone had been eating silently when the king looked up from his meal.

"Anna, may you please pass me the gravy?"

He said it politely but it still sent shivers up Tara's spine despite there being no underlying undertones that suggested anything less. The queen's hand was already on the handle when Brion stood up abruptly, causing his chair to creak backwards. Through gritted teeth he said, "no worries. I'll get it to you, Father."

He stomped past Tara, circled around the table and grabbed the small tub out of their mother's grasp. He clutched the gravy boat tightly and fast-walked over to his father. When Brion passed his brother's seat, Gregor looked about ready to question what was happening. Brion reached the king's chair and slammed the gravy boat down in front of him.

"Here you go," Brion hissed, "enjoy." Turning on his heel, he stalked over to the door. He did not even register the king's confused thank you before announcing to the table, "I've lost my appetite. I'll be in my room if anybody needs me. Good night."

"Brion! Get back here," King Victor called but was not heard over the loud slam of the door. The young prince was already gone, leaving his shocked parents and sullen siblings in his wake.

Tara couldn't blame her brother for how he was acting. On the contrary, she also acted different around her parents now. It was hard to say which parent was more difficult to be around; she was frightened of the king and could hardly bring herself to refer to him as her father with a straight face and she had to use large amounts of will-power around her mother. Many times had she had to restrain herself from blurting out that she knew the secret or asking to know more about- what was his name- John Davies, her biological father. Tara knew the risks of asking and it was guaranteed that she would not receive any answers about her supposed real father.

Despite how she and her brothers were acting, many things about her life at the palace remained the same. The sun rose every morning just as the evening sky was always illuminated by the moon and millions of tiny stars. Her nanny was still infuriating and strict; the old woman hadn't noticed any change in Tara and treated her no differently than before. She still had to wear the frilliest of dresses, and, even though she knew better, she was still treated like a princess. Perhaps she was not a royal by blood, but everything she disliked about the title still existed. The offending list was long, but the topper was always the orders- the incessant commands directed at her by her parents, her nanny, everyone.

* * *

Outside the castle, right beside the royal gardens, there stood a fountain. It was fairly big and made of rough stone, but beautiful all the same. The fountain's centerpiece was that of a fairy holding a flower over her head. The fairy's long legs crossed together into a plié, and a pair of wings stretched out behind her. Water squirted out of the flower that she held in a way that it created an umbrella shielding the fairy from its own spray. Tara smiled softly as she stretched her hand out and cupped a handful of water. This was her favourite place in the whole castle; it was so serene and peaceful. She lowered her hand back and swished it around, creating ripples in the water.

"Princess!"

Tara reluctantly stood to her feet and faced Ms. Vichkanova. The woman glowered just as soon as she noticed the front of Tara's grass-stained dress. They exchanged no pleasantries for this happened too often for either of their tastes. They both knew what was next so, with one last condescending glance, Ms. Vichkanova began to head back for the castle. Tara rubbed her wet hand against her hip as she followed her nanny up the front steps of the castle. Ms. Vichkanova began a new rant against Tara's dirty appearance. "-looks like you haven't combed your hair in days! When we get back to the castle, you will wash up, change your clothes and-" Tara tuned the rest out and instead, preoccupied herself by kicking a stray stone that lay on the pathway. She had always disliked taking orders but recently it had become almost unbearable. Being forced to sit in a chair for hours on end while her parents and their visitors droned on about things she didn't even understand was hard enough, but when it got in the way of her doing anything enjoyable, well-

When she wasn't forced to sit in on royal proceedings, she had to attend school- not that she would actually classify it as school. There were no other students, no playground or other things you'd normally imagine when thinking of the establishment. It was just her and a tutor in one of the castle's many rooms. Her current tutor was nice enough, a good-natured English-woman in her late thirties named Marsha Wilkins. The problem was that Tara had never been studious or attentive enough to truly succeed in academia. Regardless, she was learning at varied levels; year six to year eight, depending on the subject. From what she knew, most kids her age would only be doing material at a year two or three level. This was a silver lining, at least she was past those lessons.

"Did you finish your English homework, Tara?"

Her best subject by far was foreign languages. She loved the strange words and the even stranger accents. One of her biggest dreams was to explore the rest of the world and interact with different people while soaking in the culture. She doubted the credibility of her wish seeing as she had only left the palace's property once in her life, and it had not been the greatest experience. She handed the slightly crumpled piece of paper to her tutor, already certain that she would receive a high mark on it. Along with her native tongue of Romanian, she was already fluent in English. She knew some words of other languages too but English had always been the one that fascinated her the most.

Martha scanned Tara's homework a few times before saying in a congratulatory tone, "well done Tara, it looks like full marks once again."

"Thank you." The reply was simple and distant. The smile on Martha's face dimmed slightly and she dropped the paper on the table between them.

"What about Mathematics," she asked, "I know you had problems with it in the past."

"I finished most of it," Tara flipped the pages of one of her notebooks, "but there were a few parts I didn't understand."

"Don't worry," Martha replied sweetly, "we'll clear up any problems you had." Tara nodded slowly, but dared not to smile. She knew far too well that she should not get attached to a tutor or a nanny. Martha would be gone soon; she didn't know exactly when, whether weeks or months or maybe she would be the second to last a full year. It didn't matter, not really. Tara thought it was pointless to warm up to Martha just to be disappointed when she would come in for her daily classes and see someone else in the teacher's seat. It had happened so many times before; Tara didn't really want to deal with that again. So, she stayed indifferent of Martha's presence.

"Okay, I didn't understand this question," Tara said, pointing at the appropriate page.

And so, the lesson began, just like it did every Monday to Friday.

* * *

Tara stared at her reflection indignantly. In a snobby tone, she mocked her nanny, "Chin up! Do this, do that! Curtsey to your elders, Tara! Eat with your mouth closed, Tara! Most girls would kill to be a princess, Tara!" She ripped the sash right off her dress angrily, "why do I even need a stupid nanny telling me what to do? Isn't-" she split the torn sash into two, then four, then six pieces, "it enough everyone else does it too? Why do I have to act like they want me to? Why can't I just-" tears began to form in her eyes, and the pieces of cloth dropped to the ground, "be who I want to be?" Not caring that she was having a tantrum, she stomped on one of the ripped pieces and sobbed, "Why? Why?"

That was all she really wanted, to be her own person. She didn't want a planned life, people telling her what she was supposed to do or be. She didn't want to live in fear of her father or fear for her mother. She wanted change, for things to get better. Some people would wish for a fairy godmother; to live life like a fairytale, to have their own Cinderella story. Others would pray to their guardian angel, hoping for guidance or hope. Several would even rub lamps, hoping for a genie to appear, eager to grant the person wishes. Tara didn't have a fairy or a genie or an angel but someone did grant her wish. She wanted change and that is what she got. Problem was, it wasn't for the better.

Her so-called fairy godmother?

General Immortus.

The first time she saw him was a few weeks after her eighth birthday. Although it was a sunny day outside, Tara found herself walking aimlessly around the castle's halls. She was just beginning to enjoy herself, a rare feeling for the princess now that her royalty-related duties had become more frequent. She turned the corner and immediately noticed the strange sight before her. Gregor and Brion were hunched over a door, arguing in low voices.

"Move over Brion," Gregor whispered, "I can't hear!"

Brion began to retort, "well, if you hadn't been hogging the middle-"

Before their fight could escalade, Tara interrupted, "what's going on?"

Brion put his index finger up to his lips. He warned her in a hushed tone, "we don't want any of them to hear us."

Tara raised an eyebrow. "We don't want who to h-"

Gregor pounced on her, covering her mouth with his hand. "Shhh, be quiet!"

Tara struggled against his hold, "shoo webbuh wet go..." He didn't seem to understand what she had said, because he did not let go of her. She kept thrashing, and bit his hand with slight pressure. He quickly retracted his arm in shock and glared. Tara crossed her arms together and demanded, "okay, what's going on?"

"They're talking about us," Brion answered, as Gregor massaged his hand.

"About-" There was a strange sound from inside the room and Tara flinched, "about us- why?" Brion mouthed something unintelligible under his breath and pressed his ear to the frame.

Tara blinked and stared at the door in confusion. The voices were garbled and hushed, and the closer she got, the louder the voices became. She was inches away from the door when, although still muffled, a few words popped out.

"Powers...opportunity...project...chance...Markovia...geokinesis," she heard an unfamiliar female voice say. Shaking her head, she was about to turn around and leave her brothers to their eavesdropping when she heard another voice- this time, it was a man's- mention her name. She hesitated and finally, curiosity overtook her and she returned to her spot.

Gregor furrowed his eyebrows together and whispered, "I can't believe this."

Brion lowered himself to the floor, lying on his belly, and pressed his head close to the crack underneath the door. He closed one of his eyes and tried to peek inside the room. When it did not work, however, he groaned, "I can't see anything!"

Gregor rolled his eyes, "of course you can't! Now move over!"

He elbowed Brion, which just led the latter to retaliate. Before their previous argument could begin again, Tara nudged in between them. "Shush, you two."

The voices were louder now, in fact, someone was speaking at that moment, "couldn't this hurt the children? They'd be in danger every day!"

Tara recognized it as her mother, and despite the obvious obstacle between them, Tara could still sense fear in her voice. Her mother was frightened, '_but of what_?' Tara couldn't help but ask herself.

The unknown woman replied, "there is a risk, but this will be the children's choice. They will be made aware of what the dangers are and if they accept them, it will be for the greater good."

"You're acting as though _we_ have already agreed to this," the king's voice rung.

"Who better to protect the country than the royal family? Think of Markovia, Viktor."

The man's raspy voice added, "you are aware that Russia has made plans for an attack against Markovia, don't you?"

With an air of annoyance, the king replied, "of course I've heard of the plans!"

"Then," the man said, "you understand the importance of our proposal."

The Queen still seemed doubtful about whatever it was that they were talking about, "I still don't know about this. The children are so young, are you sure they will be able to handle this?"

"I don't see why not," the other woman said, "there are many other heroes their age all over the globe. In America alone, there are dozens, if not more. Of course, many of them are sidekicks or part of a team, like Aqualad to Aquaman or Wonder Girl to Wonder Woman...oh, or of course, Robin to the Batman."

"I'm quite familiar with a team of superheroes called the Doom Patrol," the unfamiliar man wheezed, "one of their members is a young boy called Beast Boy...he's around Tara's age, I believe." Said girl stiffened at the mention of her name and leaned in closer. "Your children wouldn't be alone, they'd be working closely with us and together."

"Exactly," the woman concluded, "don't you see? Your children would prove greater than any army."

"Perhaps you're right, after all, Dr. Jace," King Victor's voice faltered, "you and the General make a good argument. This could be for the best."

Tara's mother seemed eager to find a flaw in the plan. She stuttered, "this experiment? Is it safe?"

Dr. Jace replied firmly, "there is a zero percent chance of failure. They will be safe."

The only sound she could hear was the beat of her heart hammering against her chest and then King Victor said, "then yes. I give you my permission to go through with this experiment."

"But-"

She hardly made out her mother's concerned stammer, because the man's voice overlapped it. "You've made the right decision, my liege."

There were a few shuffling noises, silence, and then, the door handle began to turn. Tara, her brothers in tow, gasped and jumped back. The door slowly swung open, but Tara's feet were frozen in place, she could not find the will to move. She craned her neck slightly to the side and saw Brion biting his lip just inches behind her. She felt Gregor's leg brush against hers on the other side and heard the squeak of both their shoes against the floor as they took steps back. The door hit the wall and the three children were met with the sight of their parents and their guests coming out of the room. The King noticed them straight away, and in a gruff voice, asked, "how long have you been standing there?"

Tara shrunk back, suddenly feeling very self-conscious of herself. She lowered her gaze to the floor but didn't say anything. She could hear Gregor mumble incoherencies under his breath but it was Brion who responded.

"We were just walking by," he said icily, sticking his chin up.

"Brion," the Queen whispered, shaking her head. Brion's face softened as he looked away from their mother.

Tara stared up at the King, careful to avoid direct eye-contact, to search for a reaction. One eyebrow was raised, but his expression didn't seem convinced. Yet instead of challenging Brion's claim, he turned to his wife and the two others, "Anna," he said, "why don't you show our guests where they will be working for the rest of their stay?"

Tara's mother nodded mutely. As she led the two strangers away, Tara studied their appearances. The woman, Dr. Jace, was tall and thin. Her greying red hair was tied perfectly back into a bun, she had on glasses and was wearing a spotless white lab coat. She had a tired look about her and noticeable bags under her grey eyes. Her companion was a decrepit old man; he was short and appeared frail as he walked in step with Dr. Jace and Tara's mother. His head was bald, and like the rest of his skin, it was wrinkled. There were also round liver spots on one side of varying sizes. His apparel was even more formal than the woman's; he was wearing a blue army uniform decorated by many medals and black army boots. For a mere moment, he stopped in his tracks. It was so sudden, neither woman noticed him looking over his shoulder. His eyes locked with Tara's and his face twisted into a malicious grin. Tara gasped, but no one noticed, the General turned the corner and he was gone.

"We didn't do anything wrong," Brion was denying angrily.

The King replied, "I never said you did. In fact, I'm quite relieved that you were listening in to the conversation at hand."

'_Apparently, we've been doing that a lot lately_,' Tara couldn't help but think. It was true, not only had she learnt about her mother's affair by eavesdropping, but that was also how Gregor had found out, and how they now all knew about the King's true colours.

Brion opened his mouth to retort, but the King held out his hand, "don't say otherwise. I heard all three of you whispering out here. Well, mostly whispering, you were pretty loud at one point."

"Oh."

"Yes, _oh_. Now answer me; how much did you hear?"

He looked at Gregor, who was staring ahead, not blinking. Then, at Tara, but she shifted over to the side, hiding herself from his view by cowering behind her brother. Finally, he set his gaze on Brion, who mumbled, "not much."

The king's voice was getting colder -more impatient- with every word, "stop lying to me. What has gotten into you, Brion? You've become rude...angry, even! You're talking back, disobeying orders, and acting nothing like yourself! Whatever your problem is-"

"About us."

"Huh?"

"About us," Brion repeated, "you asked me how much we heard, well, I heard something about us. Dr. Joyce, or whoever, mentioned something about how we had to protect Markovia, and how they could make us...heroes?"

A beat passed.

"You weren't listening as long as I thought."

"What do you mean," Tara squeaked, glancing from behind Brion's shoulder.

"You only heard the gist of the story, and I suppose I now have to tell you everything else. This was why I wasn't angry that you were eavesdropping, I thought you would have already made your decisions...but fine. Dr. Jace and General Immortus came to us this morning; General Immortus had information...about a possible war in our future. I already knew there were plans for an attack but," he pinched the bridge of his nose, "a whole war? Thankfully, they also came with a plan. Dr. Jace specializes in genetic engineering, and she, along with the General, have been working on a project, able to give anyone powers, any powers. They're Markovians, and they said that their experimenting would be the perfect tool, the perfect weapon, against outside harm. I offered our army, sure that some of them would gladly volunteer to become the country's first genetically super-powered soldiers."

"Why were they talking about us then," Brion asked, a hint of defiance left in his tone.

"They seemed certain that the best thing to do was have the royal family lead the project by having you three become the first to receive powers."

He paused, anticipating an interruption. Tara wanted to ask a question, but thankfully she did not have to, because Brion asked, "what kind of powers?"

"Geokinesis," the king replied, receiving confused stares in return, "it means to control earth in all its forms...like rock, for example. At first, I questioned whether...well, their points were interesting and well-proven and I agree that this is the best thing to do."

"They said it was our choice," Gregor muttered, so softly that Tara barely separated the words into a coherent sentence.

The king seemed to be thinking along the same sides as Gregor. "It is your choice, however. If you need more time to decide, that's fine, but it would be better if we knew sooner rather than later. What do you say?"

Another beat, Brion put his hand on her shoulder and whispered, "what do you think?"

"I-" she bit her lip, "I think he's right."

Brion gripped her shoulder tighter, "I'll do it, but only if you're sure."

She regained some of her confidence and said, "I'm sure; this is for the best, like Father said." Her tongue slipped at the 'f' word, but she quickly re-composed herself. She was not sure whether she just made the right decision but there was no turning back now without making a fool of herself.

King Viktor grinned, "what about you, Gregor?"

Gregor's head darted from his siblings to his father before replying, "no."

"What did you just say?"

"No, I said no. I won't do it!"

* * *

**[1] Introducing General Immortus and Dr. Helga Jace! **

**General Immortus is part of the Brotherhood of Evil, if any of you need refreshing. **

**Dr. Helga Jace was the person who gave the Markovs their powers, as well as took care of Mammoth (and his sister Shimmer) for a while! I don't really know that much about her because every biography page about her is empty and I haven't gotten around to reading much of the Outsiders yet (this is the comic book with Brion as Geo-Force). I'll have to read more about them before I get to some of the future chapters though. Buuu-uuut I'm too busy enjoying Young Justice right now xD it's an awesome read, especially if you liked the Teen Titans cartoon (if you didn't –um- what are you doing in this section?) and it actually made certain characters likable!**

**[2] We get our first Titans mention in this chapter; Beast Boy, Aqualad, Wonder Girl and Robin!**

**[3] The countdown to Tara and Brion getting their powers begins now! It will probably count as the shortest countdown in history though: one chapter! Woot!**

**Where was I? Oh yea, keep on reading, reviewing and...something else that begins with R!**


	5. Chapter Four: First Regrets

_Disclaimer: A wise man once said, "I DON'T OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS, NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" I think this quote applies well now, don't you?_

**Author's Note: We're getting to the good stuff! Powers and...well, that's it.**

**I have to study for exams, write a Lab Discussion for Biology, finish an assignment on Exponential Functions for Math, finish finding 50-70 photographs for Photography and write up something for each Photo Area...not to mention, descriptions for fifteen of my projects in Media Arts. **

**Why am I here writing a story about a fictional blonde girl with powers?**

**Anyway, chapter four's here! It's a bit rushed but I'm satisfied with it. Gah, I'm so excited for the next chapters. I'm also working a new fanfiction TT project, called 'Four Years Later'. **

**Read on, my friends!**

**

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**

Gregor remained locked in his room for the rest of the evening and a better part of the next morning. He had even refused to let his siblings enter his room; that is until Tara and Brion brought his breakfast.

"We didn't want you to starve," Tara said, placing the tray consisting of hash browns, baguette toast, cooked sausages and scrambled eggs on his bed, "so we brought you some brunch."

Gregor picked up a slice of toast and nibbled on the edge, "it's a little much, don't you think?" His stomach grumbled and with a groan, he stuffed the rest of the bread in his mouth.

"Savour it," Brion said, "I don't think we'll be able to sneak you some lunch."

Gregor swallowed the toast eagerly and stabbed the eggs with his fork, lifting them up to his mouth, "right, right. Thanks for the food. Oh, this is so good."

"You're acting as though you haven't eaten in days," Brion laughed, watching Gregor munch on one of the sausages.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday," Gregor told them, "you know I locked myself up here right after what happened." Tara jumped on the bed and the tray shook. Gregor held it by the sides and hissed, "watch it."

"Sorry," she apologized. She crossed her legs together and shuffled in search of the comfiest spot on the mattress. Once she was comfortable, she twiddled her fingers against her cheek. "So how long are you going to stay in here?"

Gregor swallowed a sausage and replied, "not long, I just don't want to face...him...right now."

"You're going to have to eventually," Brion advised him, "he'll only get angrier if you avoid him."

Gregor shrugged, "maybe." Brion shot him an exasperated glower and the older Markov sighed, "fine, you're right. I'll talk to him after I finish eating."

"So, in five seconds?" Brion quipped blithely.

"Haha," Gregor said sarcastically, "very funny." Tara covered her mouth, stifling a snort, gaining a glare from Gregor and a chuckle from Brion. Her older brother picked at the few remaining hash browns, suddenly looking less ravenous with his meal. His gaze settled on her and he asked, "are you still sure you want to go through with this?"

She stared down at her interlocked legs, guilt swimming in her eyes. Her side bangs fell over her face, shadowing her features and for once, she found herself thankful for the minor pet peeve. Brion replied for both of them, "yes, we are."

She peeked through her golden curtain of hair at her brothers. Gregor sneered, "just because _Father_ says it's a good idea, it doesn't mean that it is a good idea, _Tara_."

A lump formed in her throat and she hopped off the perfectly-made bed. She could hear Brion defending her, "hey, don't start with her! She's not the only one who agreed to it."

"Yea, but you only said yes _because_ of Tara," Gregor riposted. Brion huffed, but was without a convincing retort. Tara sniffed and clenched her jaw. She ran out the room and slammed the door behind her.

**

* * *

**

"Are you okay," Brion asked a few minutes later, walking out of the room, slightly surprised that she was still there.

Tara stopped pacing up and down the hallway and anxiously twirled a strand of hair. "Of course," she said in a falsetto, forcing herself to laugh, "why wouldn't I be?"

Brion flicked the door knob, making it rattle lightly. "So, it looks like Gregor isn't going to change his mind."

"I know. _He_ won't be happy to hear that though."

It had become an unspoken rule between the three of them to not refer the King by the name 'father' unless in his presence or when absolutely necessary. The word felt like poison on her lips, a constant reminder of her parentage. She was certain that the reason her brothers had taken to the habit of calling the king 'him' and 'he' was merely for her benefit; they probably thought that she was too delicate to handle the situation head-on. In fact, besides tiny mentions, neither boy had tried discussing the issue with her.

Brion frowned, and awkwardly swayed from side to side, "do you think he will try to force Gregor to go along with it? I'm guessing he thought we wouldn't go against his choice."

"We didn't."

"Gregor did; he said," Brion lowered his voice a smidgeon so that it sounded more like Gregor's, "it's stupid, not to mention, dangerous. I do not trust those people and am definitely not going to let them experiment on me! Does he even know what they are going to do, how this experiment works? Are they going to cut us open or something?"

Tara's face paled. She squeaked, "they wouldn't do that."

"Don't worry about it," Brion assured, "they wouldn't." He didn't look too certain, however. "It's just Gregor...being Gregor. So do you think he will try to force Gregor to go along with it?"

Tara dithered, "I-I don't know, maybe, but he- they all- said it was our choice...and Gregor made a choice."

"I don't think that matters much to Father."

Tara flinched at the slip and stared at the long hallway, unsure what to say next. Gregor's words echoed in the back-burner of her mind and she sighed. Turning back to her brother, she asked, "why'd you do it?"

"Huh?" Brion cocked his head to the side, "what do you mean?"

"Back there," Tara clarified, "Gregor's right, the only reason you agreed was because I said I'd do it...why?"

Brion mulled the question over, considering his answer before replying. "Part of me agrees with what Gregor's saying. I don't know whether our parents made the right choice in agreeing with two seemingly unknown strangers who came out of nowhere with talk about superpowers and wars...but see, there is one thing I do know. I wouldn't want you to go through this without me by your side." He paused and rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed. "I wouldn't want to have to do this without you either," he said.

Tara shook her head, "only you would have a reply like that, bro."

"Bro?" He questioned, "I like that."

"Thought you might."

Brion smiled softly, "I think you're the one person here who actually knows me, sis."

"Sis? I like that..."

"I thought you might."

Despite their talk, Tara still felt very guilty. She knew that Brion would disagree with her if she told him her opinion on the matter. An opinion, she thought poignantly, that Gregor shared with her. It did not deter her from believing that, if her oldest brother was correct and this ended horribly, it would be her mistake. If something happened to her or Brion, then the blame would be hers alone to wallow in.

The moment she snapped at Brion and told him that she was certain about her decision, she realized that the words coming out of her mouth were a lie. She almost took it back but stopped herself from doing so, not wanting to appear idiotic in front of them. She felt stupid enough already for having agreed so suddenly but at least King Viktor wouldn't think badly of her- she could still remember the look that the king had given her; the man she had called her father had been so expectant that something inside of her snapped. It didn't help that Gregor had been standing in hushed silence or that Brion was squeezing her shoulder firmly, leaving both of their fates in her hands. She was not allowed to be weak and cower under the pressure. She couldn't decline the opportunity.

Her stomach tossed and turned and she felt light-hearted from the stressful thinking. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she and Brion started to walk together down the hallway. Tara briefly wondered when the experiment would occur. She was on edge for the following days, but strangely, she did not see Immortus, Jace or any of their associates around the castle- that is, until five weeks later.

**

* * *

**

Tara gazed up at the heavens, admiring the bright blue sky and its tranquil white clouds. She sighed gleefully as one particular cloud slowly shifted over the sun, causing the brightness of the day to fade. While she enjoyed the heat, the cool shade that the cloud provided was a welcome change for her. Considering the slightly humid day, the air was heavy and warmer than usual. The princess was laying on the arid grass, breathing in the faint scent of dew. Her muscles relaxed and she stretched her limbs out on the grassy plain. She closed her eyes, and although all she could see were the dark insides of her eyelids, she could still hear the sound of the fairy fountain somewhere behind her and after a moment of relaxation, felt the sudden radiating rays of sunlight hit her face. Tara hesitantly opened her right eye and saw the cloud had moved away from the sun.

With a grunt, she sat up, placing one arm behind her to support her weight and the other over her forehead like a visor to shield her face from hot blinding light. She wiggled her feet, to check that neither had fallen asleep. Sensing no aggravating (nevertheless familiar) tingling sensation in her toes, Tara pushed herself off the ground. She was about to leave the area when she heard a piercing cry. At first, her mind connected the sound to the tinkering of bells but she quickly realised her error. A small bird was twittering just above the stone fairy's watery umbrella. Its small claws slowly reached for the wet surface, but just as it barely grazed the stream, the bird recoiled with a high pitched squawk. It tried again to penetrate the surface by lowering itself closer to the centerpiece, but yet again, it jumped away from the water after merely touching the water. The little bird shook its wings; the feathers were dark yellow –almost orange- but the undersides and belly were darker, a jet black.

Tara felt winded as she sauntered closer and placed the palms of her quivering hands on the edge of the fountain. Something about the tiny bird was drawing her in but she had no idea what it was or why it was making her feel so bizarre. It felt like this should mean something to her but she couldn't fathom what. Small drops of water sprayed her face and her nose twitched reflectively. The bird circled the entire fountain a few times before attempting, for the third time without success, to touch the water. It screeched and ruffled its feathers fretfully. Tara watched with unblinking pupils as it flew directly across from her. The quick-moving bird landed on the stone edge, clawing the rim with its talons. Chirping now, it turned its head, facing Tara. Although her view of the bicoloured fowl was restricted by the center portion of the fountain and what she could see was slightly blurred by the flowing water, she saw something that frightened her. The bird only had one eye. She gulped and caught her breath while her whole body shook in surprise. The bird paced a bit to the left before spreading its wings and taking off into the sky. She squinted, trying to follow its flight, but it soon became an obscure speck and disappeared completely from view.

With that, she found herself sprinting back to the castle. The sight of the bird was imprinted in her mind. She could clearly imagine the bird's rippled face, its missing eye sketched forever into her brain. She swallowed, feeling bile rushing up to her throat. The sight of its right eye -or lack thereof- was horrible; there was a scarred scab around the area where the eye should have been. The area was swelled in specific spots, and the socket was a small slit.

Tara tried to push the imagery into the back corners of her mind, and only succeeded at this when she was stopped by one of the castle's many maids. "Princess, you and Prince Brion are needed in the laboratory," Geena meekly informed her. Tara noticed that the maid was clasping her hands together tightly enough that the knuckles turned white.

"Are you all right?" Tara asked.

The maid chuckled nervously, "of course, Princess. Now, come with me and-" her eyes widened, "oh, hello, sir."

Tara flipped around just in time to see Mr. Platov, the man usually responsible for Brion's well-being, walking over to them. He was wearing black pants and a blue coat held together by golden buttons that came straight down the middle of the suit. Just over his coat, a black belt, that matched the cufflinks on his wrists and the epaulets attached to his shoulder blades, was tied around his middle. He mutely glowered at the maid and tilted his head in Tara's direction.

Geena paled and stuttered, "I-I was just telling her-" He held out his hand inches from her face, silencing the maid immediately. Satisfied, he started to walk away, leaving the princess and servant alone. Geena shivered and leaned down so she was eye to eye with Tara. She whispered, "follow him- our guests are ready to see you now."

**

* * *

**

Mr. Platov nodded his head while a brunet man rapidly explained something, fidgeting with the clipboard with one hand and using his other to accentuate his words. He was speaking another language, that Terra quickly identified as French. The stranger, who was wearing a navy suit and tie, finished his tirade and perched his hand on the metal doorframe. Mr. Platov shook his head, and nudged the man away, opening the door himself. The French man walked through, and Tara advanced in suite, feeling nothing but irritation for the mute man currently holding the door open.

Tara had been trying to prod him for information regarding the situation, but to no one's surprise, he had merely pursed his lips together and walked faster along as though she was invisible. It angered her to be left in the dark about this, especially since it involved her in particular.

She wanted to know about her brothers' whereabouts. She had not seen any member of her family since that morning, and except for Brion, they were acting very oddly. Gregor had been acting moody for a few weeks now; part of Tara wasn't surprised, she should have expected that his _brief_ stint of pleasantness would be just that. Yet, another side had hoped that having no secrets between them would have made him a better person but right after the 'powers' situation began, he had slowly been reverting back to his old ways, but meaner as well. The queen's eyes had been red-rimmed that morning, as if she had been crying, and Tara caught the king staring at her and Brion multiple times at breakfast.

The king's initial reaction of Gregor's refusal had subsided like Brion had predicted and he had, with few qualms, told the scientists working on the project that only two of his children would be participating. She had no idea what he was really thinking; whether he had actually accepted the fact or if he was just hiding his true sentiments under a mask like he did with Tara and her mother. The king had acted pretty nonchalant every time he spoke of the project, making it sound more like a social event than what Tara had realised it was: a life altering change. '_And it's all my fault_,' she thought, '_whatever happens now, to me or Brion, is all my fault_.'

The inside of the room was completely black except for a couple of beeping lights. Tara stalled at the entrance, her two front teeth digging their way into her lip, before taking another step inside. There were many people there, all standing around in the pitch darkness. She could see the whites of their eyes looking her way as the door creaked and closed behind her with an echoing slam.

"Turn on the lights," a voice shouted from beside her. She looked up and her blue eyes widened with shock.

"Mr. Platov?"

She was drowned out by the sudden whirring and beeping that filled the room as the lights snapped on, illuminating the once dark room. It was not as frightening as she had imagined it would be. What she could see of the walls were as white and stainless as Dr. Jace's lab coat. There were strange machines and gadgets all around her, each making a different movement or sound. Wooden tables covered by beakers and tubes were placed in an otherwise empty corner, accompanied by two chairs, both too small to fit an adult. The left side of the room had an oddly bent wall and a small metal door in the corner. As the lights blinked on, Tara noticed the giant transparent window taking up most of the wall. She could see the inside of a smaller room with a metal interior; it was filled with buttons and flashing contraptions. There were people bustling about inside, and Tara automatically recognized General Immortus at the main controls. She stared in awe at the rest of the laboratory; there was a giant mechanical machine that guzzled a strange purple substance, the beakers resting on the wooden tables were bubbling and emitting steams of multi-coloured mist and in the right of the room, there were two metallic pedestals side by side. On top of the platforms were glass containers connected to the metal rings on the floor.

Tara felt her body go numb, for inside one of the containers was Brion, floating and completely devoid of life. His eyes were closed and his hair swivelled in a strange liquid that had filled to the brim of the container. His body was bare except for a pair of boxer shorts. His mouth and nose were covered by an oxygen mask, which in turn, was connected to a tube leading to the top of the cylinder.

"Brion!"

Her concerned cry went unnoticed by her cataleptic brother. Having foreseen the reaction, Mr. Platov sighed and told her, "it's pointless to shout. He can't hear you."

"What did you do to him," she screeched, "since when can you even talk!"

"He's _fine_," Mr. Platov said petulantly, "and it's _none_ of your concern."

Tara shot him the fiercest look she could muster, "why haven't you ever talked before?" When the man did not reply, she growled and tried again, "why is Brion in that thing?"

"As I said before, it isn't in your business to know. I did nothing to your brother, not that it should bother you in any case. This is what you agreed to do, remember?"

Tara bit her lip. "But-"

"I cannot answer your questions, Princess."

Since the first time that Tara had met Mr. Platov, she had always wondered what his voice sounded like. She had asked Brion but he had quickly told her that his caretaker was mute, meaning that he was unable to speak. Brion had either just assumed this or Mr. Platov had been actively faking his condition. His voice was deep and gravelly, but had had a hint of class and superiority. She had thought that he would have a thick accent, since his appearance seemed foreign to Markovia, yet his words were fluent and clear.

"What-" before she could ask her next question, she realized that the man was gone. "Um, Mr. Platov?"

She flipped around and came face to face with Dr. Jace and a man with a bald head, thick glasses, a big nose and heavy crease lines on his forehead. He, too, was wearing a lab coat. Perhaps it was regulation, she mused.

"Hello Tara," Dr. Jace greeted her politely, "I'd like to introduce you to my colleague, Dr. Sivana."

"Er- I- hello, sir?"

"Pleased to meet you, Princess, very pleased," he hissed in response.

Tara felt the hairs on her arms rise and she stammered, "um...w-where's Mr. Pl-"

"Mr. Platov is in the control room, but that should not be any concern for you. Are you ready to begin?"

Tara nodded, "I-I guess. What do I have to do?"

Dr. Jace lifted a flap of her coat and took out a small plastic bag from her inside pocket. She handed it to the young princess and explained, "we will start as soon as you finish changing." Tara peeked inside the bag and saw what looked like a training bra and matching shorts. "Where do I change?" she asked the doctor, hoping that they wouldn't ask her to strip off her clothing in the middle of the room.

Dr. Jace nodded in understanding and gestured to her right. "Follow me," she and Dr. Sivana led Tara past the tables holding the vibrant beakers and flasks until they reached a curtain. "Just go through the curtain and get ready."

Tara shuffled through the maroon curtain, which hung from a bar nailed to the wall. The inside of the small space was empty except for a small box stuffed with clothing that she recognized as Brion's. Tara turned the plastic bag upside down and shook its contents, letting the garments drop to the ground before throwing the bag to the side. She pulled on her sleeves and swung the heavy dress over her head. She took off the purple headpiece from her hair, which then fell just below her shoulders. Tara picked up the dress and jammed it in the box. Then, she put on the top and shorts and quickly walked out, hugging her chest tightly. The room was chilly and it felt worse now that she was underdressed.

"I-I'm ready," she called in a stutter, not seeing anybody around.

Both doctors appeared from behind one of the strange looking machines. Dr. Jace was carrying one of the small chairs while Dr. Sivana was holding a long, pointed needle in his hand. Jace set the chair down beside Tara and motioned for her to sit down. Tara, trying not to shiver from the cold, sat down while pressing her knees together and holding her chest tighter. "Hold out your arm," Dr. Sivana instructed. Tara mutely shook her head, to which the old man cackled, "don't be afraid, Princess. It will only hurt for a moment."

Tara shuddered, but this time, it was not due to the cold. Hastily, she held out her right arm to the doctors. Dr. Jace wrapped the spot just below her forearm with a stretchy blue band. The blonde girl winced upon feeling the pressure of the rubber tightening her skin. Dr. Jace then took out a cotton ball from her coat pocket and dabbed it with the tip of the bottle in her other hand. She grabbed hold of Tara's wrist and rubbed the spot where her veins had popped out with the moist cotton ball. "You can look away now. 3...2...1..."

Tara stared up at the ceiling with a grimace and bared herself for the pain that was sure to come when Dr. Sivana inserted the needle in her arm. Seconds passed and she felt a small twinge; when she lowered her head, she could see a puncture mark. Dr. Jace dabbed the wound with the cotton ball and then removed the tightly wound band.

The man at her side declared, "it's time."

Tara stood up and asked, "uh-what was that? The needle, I mean?"

Neither doctor responded much to Tara's continued irritation. She was dragged by the middle-aged woman to the pedestals. One of the men, a lanky brunet, who was working nearby came over upon being called and opened the empty container. Without even a change in his expression, he grabbed her and pushed her inside.

"Wha-" She stumbled in and the unknown scientist closed the door behind her. "Let me out!"

Dr. Sivana and the other scientist moved to a control box beside the containers holding her and Brion. Dr. Jace, on the other hand, joined General Immortus and a few other of their colleagues in the other small room. Tara's heart started beating faster as she listlessly tapped on the glass. What were they going to do to her? What had they done to Brion? Hadn't Immortus and Jace assured her parents that the children would be well-informed of the proceedings before they did anything? With a cry, she started banging on the glass with all her might.

"Let me out," she cried when something dropped on her head. She yelped in surprise and grabbed the object. It was an oxygen mask, just like the one Brion was wearing.

A loud, echoing voice boomed, "place the mask on."

She looked towards the control room and could vaguely see General Immortus speaking into a microphone. With quivering fingers, she placed the mask over her mouth, which also plugged her nose.

"Breathing regulated," General Immortus called through the loudspeaker, "ready the gaseous Tholymophesis."

Something tickled her bare feet, sending an involuntary giggle out of her lips. The glass surrounding her began to fog and she could hear the loud hum of what reminded her of a burning kettle. She could not smell anything because of the mask. Her eyes began to water, partly due to the clear gas occupying the closed encasement and partially because of the raw feeling of alarm that had taken over her primary senses.

'_What have I done?'_

"Searching for meta-human gene," General Immortus shouted, a hint of glee dripped in every word; he was enjoying her reaction. "Gene found," he confirmed, "begin the permeating sequence." A gooey liquid began to squirt into the container. "The anaesthetic should be taking affect on the subject," the voice echoed, now sounding farther way.

Tara's puffy eyes drooped her fists fell numbly to her sides. "N-no...I-I won- what's going-"

Her stammers became barely audible whispers. Her ankles buckled forward and she dropped to her knees, shaking from head to toe. What had she done? Why had she agreed to this? Her eyes snapped open only to sag once more as she felt sleep overcome her.

"So, s-so tired," Tara yawned and crawled to her side. Placing her palms at either side of her, she rested her forehead on the glass. She could see the blurry outline of her brother's floating figure. "I'm sorry," she whispered as her hands slid down the glass, creating a misty trail to the bottom. She shut her eyes, barely registering the fact that the liquid was up to her waist, and let unconsciousness take over her whole body.

**

* * *

**

She ran down a small hill, hopping from rock to rock, before reaching the edge of the deserted island. She crouched down and admired her reflection in the water. Her mirror image's expression was dour and unfeeling; it stared back with unblinking eyes. Its hair was awfully dishevelled, with the fringe scattered across her face, clouding her eyes. On the shoulder of her counterpart was an orange and black bird. Tara reached for her real shoulder but was met with only air when she grasped for the bird. The reflection did not mimic the action; instead, it continued to stare blankly at her.

Tara took in her surroundings, no longer able to hold eye contact with her reflection. Many rocks surrounded her, from giant boulders to tiny pebbles. She grabbed one of the stones lying nearby and held it up to her face. It was smooth and fit perfectly in her infantile hand. The corners of her mouth lifted into a smirk and with a mighty heave, she threw it at the water. It skipped once, twice, thrice and then four times. All the while, it created perfect ripples in the lake. As it reached its eighth jump, it suddenly froze in mid-air, inches off the water. Tara's arm lifted on its own accord and she craned her finger in a hither signal. The rock slowly spun around and then skipped back towards her. When it hit her reflection, it dropped below the surface. Her reflection wavered. The image distorted. Then, it moved its mouth.

"Ow."

Her counterpart was rubbing its forehead slowly and robotically. It, or she, muttered in a monotone, "that hurt."

"What are you?" Tara heard herself speak as she leaned closer to the water.

"You," the reflection cackled coldly, "a better you. Didn't you hear me before? That hurt."

Tara instinctively grabbed another stone and threw it at the reflection. It bounced back and smacked against Tara's hand before dropping to the ground. Tara felt no pain, in fact, in a morbid sense, she felt invigorated. The mirrored image's guffaws grew louder and the water's tides started make small waves. "You aren't me," Tara's mouth spat out.

The reflection smirked at this, "yes. I'm you and you don't stand a chance against me." Its fingernails, long and dirty, scratched the nape of the bird's head. "Terror," her counterpart chuckled, "terror, terror." The laughing subsided and once again in a dry tone, the double whispered, "that hurt." The surface of the lake bubbled and surprisingly, a bird shot out of its dark depths. Tara gasped and ducked down, suddenly in control of herself again. The bird flew past her and slammed into a rock. Tara flinched when she heard the resounding boom as the bird exploded in a mass of feathers. They rained down around her, many landing on the watery surface. The reflection did not blink as its voice boomed, "THAT HURT!" The ground cracked at Tara's feet, the rocks splitting apart at their cores. Her double floated up from the water. First her head, then her shoulders, followed by the torso and legs. Her hair tendrils swished in the wind and she raised her arms, pointing them straight at Tara.

The last thing she saw was a bright yellow light in the corner of her irises and everything went dark.

**

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**

She could hear far-away whispers calling out to her in pain, demanding to be heard...silent cries that usually went unanswered rang in her ears, pleading for her help…

Tara's eyes snapped open and she sucked in one ragged and uneven breath before sitting up. Her limbs ached, her hands were wrinkled and her hair was soaked. It took a moment to remember where she was but she recognized the machinery. She was still in the laboratory but was thankfully no longer trapped in the container. She patted the bedpan she was resting on and struggled to her feet.

"Ugh," she tried to speak but it came out as a hoarse whisper, "what's going on?"

"The experiment was a success," a voice wheezed behind her, "can you feel the power in your veins, Princess?"

**

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**

**Woo! I love the fluffy bro/sis interactions between Tara and her brothers; but unfortunately, it won't last.**

**I went back and forth with how the bird's eye should be deformed but I decided to go with the most obvious and took lil' Slade- I mean, the bird's eye out. And the dream- urgh, you do not want to read the original draft.**

**[1] This chapter introduces Dr. Sivana; a DC Comics villain that was shown in issue #51 of Teen Titans Go! All I know about him is that he's a mad scientist. He's mainly a Capitan Marvel villain but he also fought against the Outsiders and teamed up with the Fearsome Five (who on the show, were known as the HIVE 5) during the time that Nightwing, Arsenal (Speedy) and Starfire were on the team.**

**Meh, I still want General Immortus to be the central villain despite both Jace and Sivana being affiliated with criminals. He's a villain that everyone here is aware of and I find it so awesome that Terra and Beast Boy's pasts were interconnected before they even met.**

**Read and Review!**


	6. Chapter Five: Doom Patrol

_Disclaimer: All these characters are not mine; they belong to DC Comics, WB and Cartoon Network._

**Author's Note: OMG! Guess what? I just turned on the television and guess what was on? Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo! At first, I didn't realise…but then it was like, "hey, that cat-girl looks familiar...sumo wrestlers…Starfire and Robin...Cyborg...wait...WHAT?!" Cue spit take. I haven't seen the Titans on television for years, I can't help but react like a crazed fan-girl. It's a superhero weekend marathon...speaking of which, I'm watching Superman/Batman: Public Enemies now...and Starfire's there! She fought Superman xD I would like to think Koriand'r would never join Lex Luthor though...but I'm reading the comic now…and I would be wrong! :O Well, I guess she had a reason...since Earth is her new home since Tamaran was destroyed...and everyone thought Superman was a criminal...and Lex Luthor was president...but still…hahaha.**

"**I'll have to speak to Superboy about his character judgement." –Superman as he fights Starfire.**

**Tara's now nine, Brion is eleven and Gregor is thirteen. Now, I have to figure out a way to advance time so Terra will be fifteen by the time she meets the Titans…it could work how I have it planned now...hmm…**

**Another note; I am an idiot. I had a brain spasm last chapter and forgot that Slade's mask is black and ORANGE, not yellow. *smacks head* I should have edited that by the time this chapter comes out…**

**There won't be anymore heart-warming sibling fluff :D there might be the opposite though.**

**I dislike this chapter; so please bear with me…**

* * *

"_The experiment was a success. Can you feel the power in your veins, princess?"_

It took a moment for Tara's blurred vision to clear but when it did; she saw General Immortus standing in front of her. At his sides were two men; Tara recognized Dr. Sivana and, upon closer examination, the lanky brunet scientist who had locked her inside the tube. She placed the palm of her hand against her forehead, wishing that it would subdue the dull ache. Her head was throbbing painfully and she could not remember much of the ordeal. Her last memory before losing consciousness was kneeling uselessly on the ground as the container filled to the brim with an unknown liquid. Tara squinted her eyes and looked from the three men to the rest of the room. The laboratory was almost as dark as it had been when she first set foot inside it. There were a few lights on around her, but all were directed at a small section of the room, or more specifically, at them. She could hear the dim sound of machines beeping in the near distance.

She turned back to General Immortus; their eyes locked and his mouth curled into a leer. Tara grimaced and took a small step backwards. Her lower back hit the metallic edge of the bedpan and she suppressed the yelp of pain. It was not just her head that hurt, her whole body felt numb. General Immortus sauntered closer to her, and although he was small in stature, it felt like he was looming over her as he neared. His face was darkened by how the lighting reflected off his features, making him seem more intimidating than he would normally be. Just as all the other times she saw him, Tara felt a sickening feeling in the pits of her stomach. She might have felt nervous around the other scientists but something about the old soldier gave her a _really_ bad feeling.

"He's not awake yet," he said, looking at something past her shoulder.

She cocked her head to the side questioningly, unsure what he meant by that comment. A groan came from behind her and her heart stopped in realisation. She flipped around, staring at the bedpan just feet away from hers. Brion tossed and turned, mumbling in his sleep. His hair, like hers, was damp and glistening in the dim light. There was a noticeable stain on his pillow, forming a halo around his head.

He was wearing a strange costume whose colours varied from a dark brown to a dirty yellow. The chest was brown but the bottom rim of the shirt was a light tan colour. The sleeves were a similar shade of yellow and came down to his wrists. He was wearing russet pants that were tucked into heavy looking yellow boots. As he turned on his back, Tara noticed that a red band was wrapped around his left forearm. It had an insignia of a black uppercase 'M' surrounded by a neatly drawn circle. Tara looked down at her body and was surprised to see that she was adorned in a similar costume. The only difference was that the red and black mark was on her right sleeve instead of her left. She raised an eyebrow and was about to question the outfit out loud when Brion went completely still. His mumbles ended abruptly and for a few seconds, he didn't even breathe. Tara breathed in relief when his eyes snapped open and he groaned. He quickly sat up, but once he did, he moaned again, clutching his head in pain.

"Ugh. My head is killing me."

Tara brightened at the sound of his voice, "Brion, you're all right!"

"Depends on what you mean by all right," Brion gritted as he rubbed his temples with his index fingers. Despite his complaint, seeing him like this was a definite improvement to their last encounter. Seeing Brion lifelessly floating in the container had been one of the most frightening moments of Tara's young life. She tried to rush forward, barely registering the numb feeling in her legs, but quickly bounced back when she felt something strong hold her back. The tall brunet had grabbed her elbow and pulled her back towards them.

Brion immediately looked up; his eyes darkened when he saw the hold the man had on his sister. His voice retained a hint of regal splendour underneath the cold hiss as he spat out, "let her go." The scientist obeyed the order almost instantaneously and Tara quickly sprinted to her brother. Brion's angry expression softened but maintained the ghost of a grimace. He reached out and enveloped Tara in a quick hug. She couldn't see the expression on his face anymore but she felt him rest his chin on her shoulder and heard him ask the three adults a very simple yet crucial question. "What happened?"

He pushed Tara away softly, and they both turned to face the men. General Immortus was the one who spoke, "the experiment was a success, Prince Brion."

Brion's mouth hung open and he stood unsteadily to his feet. He wobbled over to the group of scientists, "really?" General Immortus nodded and her brother limped over to lean on her bedpan. Tara walked slowly towards them, feeling was starting to return to her thighs. She took a moment to examine her brother as he shook his leg in a vain attempt to stop the numbness. His hair was tangled and messy but it was also longer, almost to his shoulder. His cheekbones were more angular, his body looked leaner, and perhaps it was merely the boots, but he appeared inches taller.

He looked _older_.

She turned to General Immortus. Her voice was frail and came in frightened stutters, "h- how long where we unconscious?"

The old man raised a crooked eyebrow. He must have not expected the question so soon and he looked impressed that the young princess had thought of it. He rasped, "straight to the point, princess, that is a quality we value dearly in our soldiers." He paused, perhaps to dramatize the next words that came out of his mouth, "you two have been in a comatose state for nearly a year."

Tara gasped, raising her small hands up to her mouth in shock. Brion, on the other hand, clenched his yaw, "_what?_ Are you saying that you decided to leave us locked up for _twelve_ months?"

"Nine months to be precise," the General corrected him, unfazed by Brion's shout.

"That's _much _better," Brion scoffed, crossing his arms together furiously.

"Be reasonable," the brunet said, "we could not afford you being awake until we completed the project; if you were even conscious during short intervals, there would be a higher chance that the experiments would have failed..."

Dr. Sivana added, "...and none of us want that."

Brion shrugged, seeming apathetic to their words, "right. We wouldn't want that to happen."

"Exactly," Dr. Sivana nodded, "we wouldn't...and now, because of our success, you are now empowered with the powers of the Earth. Powers that many people could only dream of possessing." He licked his lips in an unsettling manner and grinned, showing his yellowing teeth.

Tara shuddered in revulsion and opened her mouth to speak. All that came out was a strangled combination of a squeak and a croak. She had been trying to say that they were supposed to have known what was going to happen to them before any tests were executed. That was what they had told and promised the King and Queen.

"What did you do to us," Brion asked scathingly, "how did you give us these powers?"

Tara mentally scolded herself but was grateful that at least Brion still had the ability to speak.

General Immortus replied, "we had to do many different experiments on you; test your limits, unlock your meta-human gene, etcetera, etcetera." He waved his hand around lazily and walked a few steps to the left; half of his face was now completely covered by shadows, "if it makes you feel any better, we expected it to take longer than it did."

Brion did not seem contented by the explanation and scowled, "it doesn't."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Brion, but if I were you I would be very glad about our accomplishment. This is what you agreed to and this is what you got."

Brion uncrossed his arms and sighed in acceptance, "fine. Right, I- I have one last question, General."

"Yes?"

"Why exactly are we wearing these suits," he asked, tugging at the collar of his costume.

The brunet scientist's chuckles were drowned out by an obnoxiously loud beeping sound ringing repeatedly. Tara looked around for the source. It was coming from General Immortus, and he seemed to realise because his hand went immediately to his belt. The loud noise stopped abruptly and a woman's voice –it had a strong accent; French or Russian, if Tara had to guess- spoke from his hip. "_Madame Rouge to ze General_."

General Immortus waggled one finger in front of him and said, "excuse me for a moment." He grabbed the still vibrating walkie-talkie from his belt and pressed a button on it. He raised it to his mouth, and in clear English, he said, "_General Immortus here. Report, soldier_."

"_Ze Brain is asking for you. Ze quantum generator iz nearly completed_," the woman named Madame Rouge told him.

General Immortus nodded, "_ah, yes, of course. I take it that the Doom Patrol is already aware of the generator_?"

"_Yes, how did you know_?"

"_It is called modus operandi, Madame_," General Immortus explained derisively, "_I have been studying their tactics and weaknesses for a long time; for example, at this moment, Mento and his helmet are most likely hard at work trying to discover the location of the hide-away while the rest of the team fruitlessly tries to hone their skills in combat practice_."

"_And you are sure zat zis plan vill vork_?"

General Immortus smirked, "_do you doubt the Brain, Madame Rouge?_"

For a few seconds, only static sounded on the other end, then Madame Rouge's voice replied angrily, "_of course not, General Immortus, I trust the Brain's judgement completely_!"

"_Then believe me_," General Immortus said, "_when I say_ _it is only a matter of time before the Doom Patrol falls_. _Once they are dead, nothing will stop the Brotherhood_."

Tara strained her ears; she was sure she was listening correctly but-

"_I suppose_," Madame Rouge replied grudgingly,"_you are ze experienced one ven it comes to these matters. Anyvays, ze brain vants you here by sunset; he vill not tolerate any delays_."

The line went dead and General Immortus clasped the communicator back on his belt, unaware of the frightened stare Tara was currently giving him. His words echoed in her mind, replaying over and over in quick succession. She remembered him mentioning the Doom Patrol while she had her ear pressed against the door, listening in to the conversation that had begun this whole ordeal, but she specifically recalled them being referenced to a superhero team. Tara may not have been well-versed in the topic but she had read enough books to know that heroes were good people who were acclaimed for saving lives and worlds. General Immortus and the woman, Madame Rouge, were discussing the team's weaknesses and their desire to see the team's death. She knew that the people who wished for the fall of heroes were commonly known as the villains, the antagonists, the bad guys.

The fear that had taken over her senses were spiked with a new sensation of suspicion. She watched as the General cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together.

"You will have to begin the testing without me," he was speaking Romanian again, looking over at his two companions. He lowered his hands to his sides and added, "I have other arrangements to attend to. Dr. Sivana, you and Dr. Jace will be in charge of the operation while I'm away."

The doctor nodded, "I won't let you down, General Immortus."

"See to it that you don't," General Immortus said in a menacingly calm tone, "for your own sake, Thaddeus, I have defeated many men stronger than you. If you fail me, you will meet the same fate as them."

"Nothing will happen," Dr. Sivana promised, "you have my word."

General Immortus nodded curtly, "We shall see. I will return in a week."

With that, he waned into the darkness without so much as a farewell. Tara listened to his departing footsteps, and it was not until a distant slam was heard, that Dr. Sivana turned to the brunet scientist.

The doctor asked, "where the hell is Helga? We have to start the testing!"

"What do you mean," Brion demanded, "start the testing? Isn't that what you've been doing for the past NINE months?" Tara nodded fervently, unable to add anything of her own. Her throat felt dry, and her thoughts were running along with her theory, stuck on the spot General Immortus had just stood.

Dr. Sivana stiffened and turned to Brion, "you have the powers, but we need to see if you can use them properly." He jerked his head at the scientist beside him, "go get Jace." The brunet nodded and scuttled away in search for Dr. Jace.

Brion asked again, "so are you at least going to tell us about these costumes?"

Dr. Sivana blinked in confusion, "huh? Oh, that...those are your uniforms."

"Uniforms," Brion repeated, "why would we need uniforms?"

"You obviously aren't familiar with superheroes, Prince Brion. All superheroes need a costume."

Tara and Brion flipped around; at first she could only see the outlines of their silhouettes, but as they edged forward, away from the shadows, their faces came to plain view. Tara found herself staring at Dr. Jace and Mr. Platov. Brion's ashen face -they had not seen daylight in months- paled when he made the connection between the voice that had just spoken and his tight-lipped mentor. He gasped, "Mr. Platov?"

If her throat hadn't given way, Tara would have said, "_my reaction exactly_."

The two adults circled around the bedpans. The usually silent man was smirking, thoroughly amused by Brion's shocked response to seeing him speak. He walked straight up to Brion and lifted up his arm by the wrist, inspecting the costumes. "Stitched by the best tailors in Markovia," he said. He brought his other hand over and pointed at the scarlet logo, "and branded with the mark of our country and the royal family. The colours of Earth and the material reserved for the greatest of superheroes, excellent choice indeed." He smirked at Brion, "have you chosen a name yet?"

"I- Since when can you even talk?" Brion demanded, pulling himself out the man's grip. He ignored the question and accused, "I've known you for two years and have never heard you talk!" Mr. Platov was about to respond, when Dr. Sivana intervened impatiently.

"There's no time for that now," Dr. Sivana said, "Dr. Jace; are we ready to begin the testing?"

Dr. Jace nodded from behind a clipboard, "we'll start with something simple." With one swoop, she smoothed the surface of Tara's bedpan and placed two small stones on the mattress. She spread them apart and motioned for the siblings. "Children, I want each of you to stand in front of one of these rocks," she instructed. Tara hesitantly positioned herself in front of one of the stones and, through the corner of her eye, shot Brion a sidelong stare, seeing what he would do. He was still frozen in place, gaping at Mr. Platov. "Brion, in front of the rock please," Jace repeated.

Grudgingly, Brion paced forward and stared at the stone, "what now," he asked irately.

"I want you to concentrate; imagine the rock floating in the air. Brion, you first."

Brion shot her an apprehensive look but with a sigh, focused on the rock in front of him. His fists clenched at his sides, and he bent down slightly so he was eye-level with the rock. He narrowed his cobalt blue eyes and they began to glow a bright shade of orange. Tara's own irises started to widen as she watched in awe. Brion's hands were emitting a similar glow, as was the rock. The stone shook and then started to drift up into the air. It remained afloat for a few more seconds. Brion blinked and, with a gasp, lost his concentration. The rock stopped vibrating and made a ricochet to the left. Tara heard a _plunk _as it hit the cold floor feet away in the darkness.

"Whoa," he breathed, staring down at his hands, "did I just do that?"

Tara nodded, and Dr. Jace said, "your turn now, Tara."

The small blonde readied her stance and focused all her attention on the rock. '_Imagine it flying_,' she repeated the mantra in her mind, letting all her thoughts drift to that imagery. At first, she felt no different than usual, but then, slowly, she felt warmth radiate through her body. The heat crawled down her arms, then her hands. She instinctively coiled them into balls. Tara took a deep breath, the sudden change of temperature had caused little beads of sweat to trickle down her forehead. She leaned forward, squinting at the rock with fervour, egging it on with her thoughts. The rock outlined itself with a vivid yellow tint and began to quiver. A sweat drop ran down to the tip of her nose and she grunted; the heat in her hands was becoming too intense to handle. It shook in quicker progression but before it could actually fly up, Tara lost her focus and collapsed on her knees. She moaned and shook her head, "why couldn't I do it?"

From above her, she heard Dr. Jace say, "try again, Tara."

Tara struggled to her feet; Dr. Jace clicked on a pen from her front pocket so that tip stuck out. She scribbled something on the clipboard and repeated, "try again. This time, you really need to focus," she pointed at the mineral, "imagine that rock in the air." Tara glared at the object in front of her, but prepared herself again. Just like before, she visualized the rock floating in the air. She felt heat burst through her fingertips and a strange feeling built up somewhere inside her. The excruciating pain was beginning to overwhelm her again, and her knees trembled. Suddenly-

"Eek!"

Tara fell back; the rock shattered into tiny pieces and scattered all around her. Tara squealed again, and dropped her head to her knees. She shielded the back of her head with her hands, wincing as little nuggets clouted her skin. She twisted around and let out two shallow breaths, "I-I can't do it, Dr. Jace, I can't-"

"Stand up, child," Dr. Sivana snapped, "try again!"

"I. CAN'T," she refuted loudly, rising off the ground. She glowered at the doctor, feeling anger bubbling in her stomach. Her hands warmed up and she heard something hit the ceiling. She looked up and saw Brion's rock crashing back to the ground. She dodged the rock and it fell inches away from her right foot.

Brion had a small smile playing on his lips and he said, "you did it!"

"I did?" She questioned; her face lit up in realisation and she proclaimed, "I did!"

Dr. Jace nodded and busily wrote down more notes across the paper. Mr. Platov hovered over her shoulder, staring intently at the clipboard. He mumbled something in her ear and she nodded again. Dr. Jace dropped the pen back in her pocket and said, "they need a complete physical."

"It seems," Mr. Platov said, "that the power might be harder to control than first thought." Tara felt her cheeks turning a light pink, Mr. Platov was staring at her.

They exchanged in a few more words before she felt someone's cold hand grasp her shoulder and say, "you're to come with me, Princess."

Before she knew what was happening, she and Brion were once again separated. The unknown scientist, a lean blond, led her to a chair and began the examination. A little hammer tapped her knees, checking her reflexes, the end of a stethoscope grazed against her chest, an otoscope and an ophthalmoscope were used to examine her ears and eyes and swabs rubbed against the inside of her mouth, taking her DNA. She was connected to all sorts of machines meant to determine her vitals and other aspects of her health. She rubbed her hand gingerly after being forced through another series of painful needles.

After the tedious examination was over with, she was allowed to rest on the bedpan that had been supplied for her. Tara found herself unable to sleep but it was not until she sensed Brion's return that she opened her eyes and jumped off the bed. He was alone and looked as though he had not fared well in the testing either. He explained that most of the scientists were busy shuffling around, gathering data. Tara nodded, eager to share her theory with him. While they had been doing tests on her, she had been thinking about everything that had occurred in the past few hours since they had woken up. Although the one year gap and the strange powers were the most prominent in her mind, General Immortus' conversation with his foreign accomplice kept repeating itself, and somewhere between the fourth needle to the arm and the thermometer being inserted underneath her tongue, she had begun to over-think the situation...at first she had just been warily suspicious and slightly fearful, but now she was positively terrified and certain that her assumptions were correct and something to be concerned about.

She whispered hurriedly, "we have to talk."

"You mean, about this whole 'one year' business? Can you believe them?"

Shaking her head, Tara whispered, "not about that...Brion, I'm scared...there's something wrong..."

He shot her a concerned glance, "what do you mean?"

"Remember when that General man left?"

"Yes?"

"He was talking to that woman about _k-killing_ the...Doom Patrol...I think that's what he called them."

Brion's eyebrows shot up, "I wasn't really listening. Are you sure that's what he said?"

"Yes," she said defensively, "I'm sure!"

"Who is the Doom Patrol anyways? They don't sound too friendly."

"No, well, I don't know but- remember when he and Dr. Jace were trying to convince Mother and...F-Father? Do you remember what they said when Mother asked if it would be too much for someone our age to handle?"

He closed his eyes, "they started naming heroes our age...Aquaboy...Wonder Gal...or something like that."

"Yes," she continued, "and General Immortus mentioned the Doom Patrol as a superhero team and that they had a member my age," she tried to recall the name, but couldn't except that it started with a B..._Best Guy? Blue Boy? Boss Boy? Beast Boy? _

"Superheroes? That doesn't make any sense! Why would he be trying to _kill_ a superhero team?"

"I don't know; but it can't be good...what if these people are bad, Brion?"

"We can't prove that," he stated level-headedly, "we don't know the full story; are you sure he said he wanted to kill them? He was speaking English, you might have misunderstood-"

"I didn't misunderstand, Brion! We've been taught English since- forever! How could I misunderstand?! He was talking about a generator, a brain and this person named Mento and-" She started to feel something warm against her fingertips.

He held his hands out defensively, "calm down, Tara. Listen, we'll keep an eye on them but we can't do anything yet."

Tara pouted, but nodded stiffly, "fine, whatever."

With that, she curled up on the bedpan again, hugging the small pillow tightly. She closed her eyes and attempted to sleep, or at least have Brion think she was asleep. She thought she heard Brion call her right before she began losing consciousness. She was in a half-conscious state, her body was asleep but her mind was still aware of her surroundings. Everything, but the low sounds of people talking and machines whirring in the background, was silent.

About ten minutes later, she heard the two doctors come back in the midst of a conversation. She heard Mr. Platov's voice join the mix, and she wondered why he was still there. Her eyes fluttered open in time to see Dr. Jace fold up a long piece of paper into a thick squared clump. She noticed Tara's waking and asked, "are you awake, princess?"

Tara nodded, and sat up, shuffling to the edge of the bed. She swung her legs into a sitting position, letting them dangle from the bed. She swayed them in rhythm with the many machines' beeping.

Brion was standing beside them, rubbing one eye tiredly.

Dr. Jace announced, "the tests all came back without any problems. I think that the only thing you need is some practice." She stuffed the folded-up results into her pocket and returned to her discussion with Sivana and Platov. Part of Tara was relieved to hear that there was nothing the matter with her but another part kept nagging the fact that Brion had been able to, at least, control his powers and she had not. But, perhaps Brion was right and she had been mistaken about the Doom Patrol situation and perhaps Dr. Jace was right and all she needed was training in order to get her powers in check.

Or, perhaps, they were both wrong.

* * *

"They're all staring at us," mumbled Tara, shooting a glare at some of the guards.

Brion kept his head straight ahead as they walked into the throne room. "Just ignore them," he muttered.

After the doctors had gotten the results of the physical, Dr. Jace suggested that they see their family. The others had nodded in agreement and they had sent a guard to inform the rest of the members of the Markov monarchy about everything. Once the guard had returned, they left the laboratory and started to walk to the throne room.

Tara could remember the last time she had been in this particular room; right before she and Brion went to Bzoq. That had been nearly two years ago, and Tara wondered how much things had changed, or more specifically, how her family had changed in the past nine months that they had missed. Dr. Jace had been informing them of the basic happenings of the year, but had avoided any talk about Tara's parents and brother.

Mrs. Vichkanova had left the castle only a few days after the experiment had begun. With Tara encased, there was no need for the old nanny to remain at the Markov home. Tara could not help but feel gleeful, it was no secret that she and her conservative nanny did not get along. She vaguely wondered why this was not the case with Mr. Platov, but everything about him seemed to be an enigma. Why could he talk all of a sudden? Why did he seemed so involved with the project? Everyone kept interrupting before she got any answers and she dared not mention it at the moment.

She looked over her shoulder at one of the glass-paned windows that illuminated the hallway. The sun that had been so vibrant that particular morning was hidden behind looming clouds and grey skies. Markovia was experiencing wet periods; it would rain for days on end without a sign of stopping. The gloomy weather seemed to be foreshadowing the impending war against Russia. Tara wasn't certain to what extent the war had advanced but Dr. Jace did mention there being rumours of a marauder named Baron Bedlam leading his forces into Markovia in the near future. It seemed as though she and Brion would soon be needed to fulfill their new titles as Markovia's protectors.

They were waiting for them inside the throne room, at the end of the hall. The King and Queen sat in their respective thrones and Gregor stood at his father's side with a blank expression on his face. Although they didn't look as different as she first imagined, Tara was in awe at the small changes in their appearances and attitudes.

Her mother had never been a dominant personality and to Tara's knowledge, she was always meek and ready to fall in with the King's wishes. Her only experience with rebellion had been a long time ago and had resulted in, well, Tara. Even if Queen Anne spoke out of turn, the stutters and whispers were easily ignored by others. But, there was no excusing the sickly state of the small woman sitting in the giant golden chair. There were wrinkles around her pale face and restless bags underneath her eyes. Thin strands of white hair mixed with the blonde. Her sunken eyes twinkled with unshed tears as Tara and Brion settled in front of the seats. She leaned forward and enveloped her children in a small embrace, whispering, " "oh my children, you're alright!" Her voice was croaky and feeble and with a light sniffled, she retreated back to her seat.

King Viktor sat grandiosely beside her, "I was very pleased to hear about the experiment," he said. Brion nodded and lowered his back into a bow. Tara swiftly followed his lead by bending into a curtsy. The king looked hardly any different; still tall, still imperial and still capable of frightening his wife's illegitimate daughter with one glance. He was wearing a prim suit as always and she could not help but glower in distaste. While the Queen looked near death, her husband seemed to be at the prime of life.

Tara then brought her attention to the thirteen year old boy standing rigidly beside the throne. Like Brion, his features were slightly more mature. His arms were hidden behind his back and there was no emotion apparent in his young features. He looked over his siblings, stopping at their new uniforms, but then settled on their faces.

"Welcome back."

* * *

Brion, like always, was true to his word. The two kept a very close eye on the doctors and scientists; examining their every movement and their every words for clues supporting Tara's suspicions that the group, or at least the General, were corrupted in some form. But- besides small tidbits of information, the scientists were very technical in their discussions. The biggest piece of news that they heard was that General Immortus' trip was extended due to a '_minor miscalculation_'. Tara was glad to have learnt that, because she was sure it meant that the Doom Patrol had lived and managed to foil whatever scheme '_the Brotherhood_' was planning. Her pessimistic side was worried that their survival was temporary if General Immortus and his comrades remained so persistent to see the superhero team's downfall. That was all she and Brion knew about what occurred in the hideaway, because the scientists hardly ever wavered from the tasks at hand. Their current task was training the siblings in basic hand-to-hand combat and, more importantly, how to better use their powers.

That was what led them to the training grounds every afternoon. Tara could remember very clearly what the first day was like. The reclusive site was merely a ten minute distance from the castle grounds. The area was surrounded by a wired gate to keep intruders away. If the dangerous climb did not deter them, a sign was posted in front of the entrance. The notice held the warning 'WARNING! DO NOT ENTER' written in bulky red letters. In a smaller font, it said that prosecutors would be punished by the law and that the gated area was property of the government and the monarchy of Markovia. Their party walked right past the sign, and Dr. Jace stopped in front of the gateway. She fiddled with a metal loop holding a deviation of keys, before selecting the correct one. She inserted the key in the lock, and with a _click_, the door swung open. Tara walked in and took in her surroundings. The inside of the vicinity was full of jagged rocks of varying sizes, bushes and dirt piles. What could be seen of the ground had been paved over in granite.

Doctors Jace and Sivana were at the helm, pushing the buttons that controlled booby traps and other tricks designed to test their powers. They were always accompanied by scientists to aid them and guards to stand in front of the gates. On chance occasions, Mr. Platov came as well, to Brion's annoyance. They instructed Brion and Tara through levels of training every day. After the first few weeks of practice, Brion had already gotten complete control over his new abilities. On the other hand, to say that Tara was having difficulty was an understatement. She now could move the rocks with few concerns, but even the smallest bit of exertion, even the tiniest distraction, was enough to make her lose control. On their first practice session, she had made a noticeable dent in the fence and sometime during the fourth week, she managed to cause a small earthquake that rumbled their surroundings and almost destroyed some of the portable equipment that the scientists had brought with them.

It was while driving to the secret training location that Dr. Jace received a certain call. It was just past one in the afternoon and they were running a little behind schedule. In front of the car they were riding in was the bulky looking car belonging to Mr. Platov. He was driving and he had four scientists from the lab as his passengers. Tara's car was a compact black vehicle, lagging just the right distance away from Mr. Platov's car. Dr. Jace was at the front, with Dr. Sivana mumbling to himself in the seat beside hers. The red-haired woman was patiently driving along the road when a loud ringing echoed. Tara and Brion sent curious glances at the top of each other's heads from the edges of the back seat. They were sitting awkwardly at either end, squished to the doors by the heavy equipment loitering most of the middle. Tara was on the left, just behind the driver's seat. The blonde girl squirmed and tried to reposition her arms in a vain attempt to make the short trip comfortable. She raised her head, trying to see what Dr. Jace was doing about the sound. The doctor's right hand dropped from the steering wheel and reached over to the small container between the two front seats. When she pulled her hand out, she was holding a vibrating cellular device. She snapped it open and uneasily placed the phone between her shoulder and ear before setting her hand back on the wheel.

"Hello?"

The car in front of them turned the corner and Dr, Jace followed suit. Her shoulder was tautly raised up against her earlobe, making her figure seem lopsided as she drove. She hummed in agreement after every tittering phrase the other person said. "Right," she nodded as well as she could in her position, "yes, yes. Good, we're on our way." She grabbed the phone with her left hand and added a quick farewell before pressing the red end button. She leaned to the side and dropped the device into the container. She then pressed a button at her side, scrolling down the window to a certain degree. She stuck out the hand and signalled the car ahead of them with a thumbs up and a point to the left. Mr. Platov responded with a honk and she pulled her hand back into the vehicle.

"Change of plans," she said, as she turned the vehicle around in a sharp U-turn.

Tara squealed in surprised and instinctively grasped the handle of the door. Brion gasped, "what's going on?"

Dr. Jace didn't turn around, but the front view mirror's reflection of her eyes darted over to them, "congratulations. You're about to fight your first villains."

* * *

**Oh god, this chapter was difficult. I must have re-written it five times and I'm still not that happy with it.**

**The italics during when Immortus was speaking to Rogue is to represent the fact they were actually speaking English. Every other piece of dialogue is in Romanian, which is the language that they speak in Markovia. Remember, Tara is already quite fluent in English.**

**This chapter took place…hmm…just before the intro scene for Homecoming Part One took place. Tara and Brion wake up a few days before the Doom Patrol broke into the castle, destroyed the first quantum generator and Beast Boy's first T-Rex transformation. I have a feeling Beast Boy was around nine years old then, which is why I had the whole powers-thing last nine months. **

**Last note; if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. **

**Read and Review! You know you want to!**

**Okay, I'm done.**


	7. Chapter Six: Zeta Metas

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Markovs...or most of the other characters that may show up in this fanfiction. DC Comics owns them, not me. I don't own Markovsburg either, it's an actual place in Markovia. I do own the Zeta Metas though._

**Author's Note: Okay, yes this is late. I'm sorry!**

**I finally read the Outsiders so I've got a better grasp about what I'm going to do with Brion, Jace, Gregor and the rest of Markovia later on in the story. If you've read the comic, none of it will come as a surprise to you...but if you haven't? Well, be prepared for some messed up stuff. **

**Aw, the Shift/Indigo relationship was very cute...too bad that ended so tragically. Indigo died and Shift re-absorbed himself into Metamorpho. My favourite part was when Starfire and Jade walked in on them. Poor Jade, she probably got scarred for life. And Star was so blasé about it; we even got to hear about some of Dick and Kory's er- escapades back at Titans Tower. **_**^-^'**_

**Outsiders V4 has the most epic scene ever! **_**Alfred**__**PUNCHING**__**Slade!**_** That definitely goes down in my list of best moments in fiction ever. I really want to add a Deathstroke/Geo-Force fight...hmm...**_**interesting**_**.**

**Last note; as we know, Brion's powers are more versatile than his sister's. From the DC Wikia; the list of his powers are: Gravity Manipulation,** **Geokinesis, Lava Blasts, Flight,** **Regeneration, Superhuman Strength and Superhuman Durability. In this story, he and Tara are given their powers at the same time and as we've seen, they have similar powers. The rest of his powers come later on, you know, just information if anybody cares.**

**We'll see. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

The First Bank of Markovsburg.

It was prized by Markovia's leading historians as one of the longest standing architectures in the entire country, having been built by the first settlers of Markovia almost two hundred years ago. Except for the occasional repair every decade or so, the building still stood proudly in its original glory to that very day. It was centered in the heart of the city, constantly surrounded by the bustle of the populace.

When they arrived, the entire block was in an apparent state of panic. There were people screaming as they ran to safety while some courageous citizens watched the building curiously from a short distance. Dr. Jace swerved the car and parallel parked behind two police cars situated inches away from the sidewalk leading to the entrance of the bank. The police sirens were flashing blue and red as they rung deafeningly in the air. Tara clapped her hands over her ears and tried to talk over the loud noise, "why are we needed? Isn't the police handling this?"

The older woman pointed at the nearest police car, "it's empty, you see? The police are inside; they attempted to stop the robbers but were quickly overpowered." She stared at them expectantly, "that's where you come in, children, only you stand a chance of stopping them!"

Tara unbuckled her seatbelt and peeked over the scientists' mobile equipment in order to have a better look at what was happening inside the building. She saw a burst of bright light flare through the glass over her brother's head.

"An alien and two meta-humans," Dr. Jace's glasses dropped down to the crook of her nose.

"Meta-humans?" questioned Dr. Sivana as he watched the police sirens wail, "not _your_ kids, I hope."

The hand perched on the steering wheel tightened around the rim and Dr. Jace's knuckles turned into a ghostly white. "This is no time for petty jokes, Thaddeus," she snapped at him before turning around in her seat, "they're small time villains despite their abilities so if you are careful and use the techniques you've learnt in training, you should be able to stop them fairly quickly."

It was just her imagination, Tara assured herself, that Dr. Jace's gaze had not settled upon her but were locked on just Brion as she spoke. Her thoughts became doubtful; it was as if Dr. Jace placed her trust only in Markovia's prince or like she knew that Tara's lack of control over the element would only be a liability in battle. The woman pursed her lips into a thin line and twisted back to the front. She reached over and pressed a small button with a graphic of a small car sketched on it. With a thump, the trunk of the car opened.

"There is an obvious shortage of Earth in this city so we brought along some...weapons in case of an emergency."

Brion swung his car door open and walked calmly over to the back of the vehicle. Tara followed his lead and they met at the rear. The inside of the trunk was jammed with boulders and dirt clumps of all shapes and sizes. "What are you waiting for?! GO!" Dr. Sivana's head had stuck out of his window and his features were scrunched up into an impatient frown. He jabbed his finger in the direction of the building and egged them on.

Brion took his cue and spread his hands out in front of him. They outlined themselves in a now familiar glow of orange and with a grunt of determination, he dropped on one knee, hitting the cement with his fists. A giant boulder, possibly the biggest in the trunk, came swooping out and fell with great force on the cement. Brion jumped on the boulder and soared a few feet over the car before swiftly shifting in the direction of the building. A trail of smaller clumps of Earth floated behind him, forming a long serpentine tail heading for the bank's entrance. Tara chased after her brother on foot, too wary to attempt a similar move. She reached the door first and pushed it open at her brother's assurance.

The smell of fresh blood overwhelmed her senses. It was so powerful that she could almost taste the stale tang of metal on her tongue. She sucked down the saliva that had built up in her mouth and took a tentative step forward.

"By my crown-" she heard her brother breathe from above her.

Two security guards and three police officers were laying unconscious in a pile, having been awkwardly dragged to the corner of the lobby. A smashed security camera dangled loosely from its clasp, threatening to drop on them at any moment. Beside them, a man who was also wearing a police uniform was sitting up against the wall, clutching his leg in visible pain. His black pants leg was moist with the sticky liquid and his hands were covered in his own blood. He was bleeding profusely and seemed unable to move, too preoccupied with his injury.

On the other side of the room, a small group of civilians were huddling together in fear. They lifted up their heads in unison and watched the Markov children enter. They were eerily silent except for one little boy who had begun whimpering softly. There were workers kneeling behind their perspective counters and one woman bravely peeked over her desk to see who had just entered. Tara felt the teller's dark eyes examine her with confusion. One of the other bank-tellers, another woman, was shakily shoving bills of Markovian currency into the white bags being held out for her.

The only other people in the lobby were three extremely strange looking people. Or, at least, Tara thought they were people. She took another footstep forward; the sole of her boot squeaked against the marble floor, catching their attention.

The man was the first to notice them. He was hovering over the injured police officer with a smirk plastered on his face. His head revolved around like an owl; his neck was not restricted by human limits; and his eyes lingered on Brion's transportation with an unexplainable expression on his tanned face. He was wearing a full bodied spandex suit that was completely black except for the perfectly fitted white boots and gloves. He had markings on his face; the area around his left brown eye was painted dark green and was in the shape of a triangle. His hair was styled in a fashion that Tara had never seen before, with all but the center line of his shaved off. The hair he had left was dyed and gelled into pointy green spikes. His lack of hair gave a clear view of his ears and his right earlobe glinted in the fluorescent light. It was pierced by a barely visible diamond stud.

His companions were two slightly younger-looking women. One of the woman was holding the satchels that were currently being filled with money by the scared teller. The other woman was touching the employee's temple with her index finger; her three other fingers were curled into her palm and her thumb was lifted in the air, forming a gun shape.

The intimidating woman narrowed her masked green eye in suspicion. She had long red hair tied back in a low ponytail while her fringe was combed messily to the side, covering part of her face. The other half was partly hidden as well, due to the yellow eye mask she had donned. Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless yellow leotard with a diamond insignia across the chest. It was divided neatly in the middle; half was red and the other half was black. The tips of her leotard were a taintless white and were pointed at the shoulder blades. Long red boots that reached to her mid-thighs completed the costume. She dropped her self-made weapon and positioned both her hands defensively in front of her. They began to elicit grey smoke and stated, "Vi, you know what to do."

The other woman was shorter than the first by a couple inches, not that it was very noticeable at the moment. They were eye-level with each other because 'Vi' was floating in mid-air. She was the oddest looking of the trio; what with her snow white hair that stopped just above her shoulders in disordered curls and her skin- it was not a normal hue, but rather a distinctive and vivid plum. Her navy attire was very revealing; her shirt was a midriff halter top and her ruffled mini skirt ended halfway to her knee. The top had a silvery swirl design that matched the metallic belt that clasped the dark blue skirt together at her hips. Her eyes, which had no whites, changed from aquamarine to pink when she blinked and the bags she was holding vanished in thin air. Satisfied, she clicked her high heeled black pumps and dropped gracefully to the ground. In a melodious voice, she said, "the money...is in the truck."

"Nice one, Violet," the red headed villainess congratulated her with a crooked smirk, "well, y'know, for you." She patted Violet's shoulder with her still-smoking fingers but the purple woman did not so much as flinch upon contact.

"Who are _you_?"

The words came out of Tara's mouth without her consent and immediately, her eyes widened at her own boldness.

The man stepped away from the terrified officer. Tara felt that she should have been surprised when his leg stretched all the way to where his teammates were standing or when his body quickly followed but at that point, she was certain that _anything_ could happen and she would not be surprised- not one tiny bit. He landed beside Violet in pure nonchalance as though he had stepped an inch to his right and now halfway across the room. He spoke with a guttural deep voice with a heavy Hispanic accent, "we're the Zeta Metas, Chiquita."

"And unless you want trouble," the red head growled, "you should mind your own business and get outta here!"

"We have sworn to protect Markovia at any cost," Brion refuted, "so I think it is you who should leave!"

"Like we're scared of brats like you," the red headed woman spat, losing whatever was left of her thin patience. Her face was hidden, engulfed behind the cloud of smoke that was being released from her palms. She raised one hand, thumping it through the cloud. It went in slow motion for the blonde princess; the ball of fire that burst out of her palm shot directly at Brion. He seemed prepared for such an attack and formed a shield out of the boulders floating around them. It was a trick that they had learnt from the many wearisome weeks of training. The flames made contact with the thick barrier of stone but had little effect on them except perhaps blackening the surface.

"Charcoal," the man reprimanded before shaking his head and shouting, "uh-just hit him again!"

She nodded, jumping out of the self-made smoke, "I'll finish off the geomancer, you and Vi take care of the girl!"

Charcoal punched the air with both fists, sending more fire blasts in Brion's direction. Tara could not aid her brother because the man had set his sight on her, using his powers to stretch his arms over to her and wrap her in a tight embrace. Tara struggled, feeling her arms starting to lose their blood circulation, "let-me-GO!" Her eyes flashed yellow and with a resounding smack, the man was struck on the side of the head by a medium sized dirt clump. He yelped in surprise and staggered backwards, his elongated arms dropping limply on the marble floor tiles.

The purple-skinned villainess gasped and darted over to him, placing one hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder in an adoring manner. "Stretch," she cooed, "are you all right?" The man named Stretch grunted in response and rubbed off a piece of mud from his cheek. "Did she hurt you," she asked, "do you want me to-"

"Si mi linda," he nodded, "but _don't_ kill her."

"Right, I won't." Violet pointed at Tara, "you will pay for that!" The humanoid kicked off from the ground and with amazing speed, flew at Tara. The princess did not have time to react and was thrown at the door when the alien woman's knuckles socked her in the gut. She felt the air being knocked out of her lungs as she slid down to the floor. She exhaled heavily and wiped excess saliva from her lips as she tried to regulate her breathing. Violet swerved in a circle and came at her again, this time her foot was outstretched in front of her as she flew at the younger girl.

Tara cringed, expecting to feel the heel of the boot but before she could attack, an Earth-toned blur jumped at her and they both crashed, sliding feet away. They wrestled on the ground for a few moments and then Brion came up on top, managing to hold Violet down by the wrists, "-and you will pay for hurting my sister!"

Violet replied softly, "you are lucky that I am not trying to kill you." She bent her legs upwards and kicked Brion's chest, pushing him away. Brion rolled in circles and landed in a crumpled heap a few feet away.

"Violet," Stretch shouted, "don't-"

"I will not," the alien sung, "do not worry."

Brion sat up and scratched the back of his head, ruffling his hair with his eyes shut in visible discomfort. Charcoal, who looked absolutely miffed that Brion had escaped her fire blasts with no damage, kicked one of the charred rocks out of her way, "he's mine," she gritted through her teeth. She ran past Stretch and Tara, hurtling towards Brion; her hands were literally fuming.

Tara stumbled and shouted in desperation, "BRION!" She felt her powers activate again and she angrily rushed forward in blind fury. Her hair rose in the air, swishing like medusa-like tendrils. Her vision blurred and turned a yellow tint, discolouring her surroundings. Tara gritted her teeth as a harsh wave of pain inflicted her very core but she didn't dare cry out. The discarded boulders on the ground began to vibrate and rise, forming a quick-moving ring around her. Her legs gave way and she dropped to her knees, holding the roots of her hair as the pain increased. Her limbs contracted and her back arched back causing her to let out a small shriek.

Through half-lidded eyes she saw Charcoal grow two large fireballs in each hand, ready to attack her prey. Terror mixed with pain and her heart began to hammer against her chest like the beat of a stick to its drum. Struggling, she rose to her feet and shouted, "NO!"

Brion turned around in surprise and started, "Tara! What-" His eyes widened at the sight that befell him. Tara walked nearly five steps before she fell backwards; she could see Violet's surprised face and Stretch's, his was a blend of outrage and fear. She could sense Brion move but couldn't make out exactly what he was doing. She gulped down her cry before her head slammed against the marble, allowing herself to close her eyes and the room to darken around her. She heard a crinkling sound and a female shouting out in pain. The crunch that should have been her head cracking open never came and then-

_Nothing._

* * *

"-anger problems-"

"-stupid thing to do."

"How is she?"

"Good, thank god that one of Lik'sha's powers is healing."

"You're bailing them out, right?"

"Lik'sha and Roberto? Yes, yes, we are. I- oh, she's waking up."

Tara found herself lying on a bedpan; her head was elevated on a starchy pillow and her limbs lay stiffly on her sides. She blinked, staring up at Dr. Jace and Mr. Platov. An unknown doctor came into view and he bobbed his head up and down, writing something down on a small notepad.

"Good afternoon, Miss. Markov, how are you feeling?"

She scuffled her body into a sitting position and moaned, "uh-fine, I suppose. W-what happened to me?"

"You lost control of your powers," the doctor explained shortly, "the strain caused you to lose consciousness. You have some minor bruises but nothing too serious. Thankfully, your brother managed to apprehend the robbers soon after your accident. Doctors Jace and Sivana called an ambulance and the authorities."

"Oh," she mumbled softly, dropping her gaze to her lap, squeezing her hands together.

"Don't worry, Princess. You're all right now, as are all of the hostages," Dr. Jace said in what she supposed was a comforting tone, "we're at the castle so if you feel up to it, you can return to your bedroom for proper rest."

"Uh-huh," the blonde replied, "thank you."

The three adults finished bringing Tara up to date; when she had fainted, the twister of boulders had expanded and reverberated across the lobby, blowing in all directions. Brion managed to subdue most of the pieces before they harmed any of the innocent civilians but he missed one of the bigger rocks. It had fallen on Charcoal's head, knocking the woman unconscious. Tara was assured that she hadn't been harmed but they failed to explain the villainess' injury or her current state. Even though it had been an accident and the woman was obviously a criminal, Tara felt guilty for hurting the woman. That was not the only emotion in her mental arsenal; she was very angry at herself for losing control of her powers during such a vital occasion. The pain that came with the use of her abilities had been so immense that, according to the doctor, she had been in a comatose state for almost three hours. And, she thought bitterly, of course it was Brion who had managed to stop Stretch and Violet single-handedly. As soon as the jealous thought penetrated her mind, she regretted it. It wasn't Brion's fault that she could not control her geokinesis. It was hers. She was starting to doubt that she would ever be able to control her Earth-empowered abilities.

As soon as she knew they would allow her to, she jumped out of the bed and headed to her room. The door creaked open and she dragged her feet across the room, ignoring the light switch and instead going directly to her windowsill. There was a perfect view of the setting sky from her tower; the colour of the heavens was a smoky grey, the setting sun hidden behind the clouds. Tara's mother used to say that storms were what happened when something sad had occurred in the land, making the angels that resided up above cry in pity for the poor people. Thinking about her mother did nothing to help her mood, Tara thought as she pressed the palm of her hand against the window, watching as the rain hit the glass in heavy droplets. She exhaled quietly and closed the drapes so that the room was left in perfect darkness. Without even bothering to change into her nightgown, she lay down and snuggled up in her silk sheets. Just as sleep overcame her, a very random contemplation crossed her dozing mind.

'_Who are Rachel, Roberto and Lik'sha_?'

* * *

For the first time in months, the sun shone brightly over Castle Markov. The air was pleasant, neither humid or frigid, and the sunlit day was very infectious. As Tara breathed in the buoyant aftermath of the many overcast months, she was greeted by a fluttering sensation in her stomach and the overpowering urge to sing to the skies. She settled for a tuneless hum and started skipping down the steps.

"-it was a decent victory but nothing beats-"

"-when I took you out in the first ten-"

"-I could have beaten you if-"

She stopped humming and skidded to a halt, letting her brothers continue their descent down the pathway. They were currently teasing each other about their alternating wins and losses during their fencing matches. Both brothers were extremely competitive but thankfully, they never took it too far and it only strengthened their slowly re-growing bond. The weather had even put Gregor in a content mood, but, of course, it was uncertain how long that would last. Gregor was like a loose cannon; his emotions were usually hidden, giving him a grumpy demeanour, but sometimes he let his feelings out. That was the Gregor she truly cared for; even when his true sentiments were against her.

He had told them that the year apart from his siblings had made him reassess the situation at hand and he was, at the very least, tolerant of their decision now. He made it clear that he still thought that the experimentation that they went through was ridiculous and that opinion only augmented when he heard what had happened at the bank. Tara noticed that he was still acting too formal with her and she knew why. Neither sibling had forgotten how he had blamed the entire thing on her brisk decision. Tara wondered briefly whether their severed relationship would be able to survive any more damage but such negative thoughts did not fit in the joyous morning light and would only bring unfortunate consequences.

"-win with my eyes closed-"

"-I would like to see you try, Rocky-"

Tara shook her head, snapping out of her reverie. She trudged along the path, hoping that by doing so, she would be extending the vacation time that she and her brother had been granted. The royal counsel and the scientists involved with the project had been debating whether the two Markov children deserved a short break from the strenuous training and their new responsibilities. The voting had ended on a positive note; eight votes for 'no' and twelve for 'yes'. So, for a few days, Tara and Brion were allowed to return to their previous lives. Brion was thrilled but although she did enjoy the feeling of relaxation and the outdoors, Tara was...

'_Who am I kidding?_'

Either way: an unhappy princess being held captive in her own castle and the result of a not-so-well-kept family secret or an unhappy superheroine wannabe who was unable to control her own powers, she was discontented with her life. Tara tripped over the long dress she was wearing and scowled for a moment as her headband slid down her face, covering her eyes. She huffed, she despised these horrid dresses.

It definitely did not help that she had worn her purple dress that day; the colour only reminded her of Violet, the heist, the other two villains, her failure and her despairingly unclear future. The failure, she mused, that would have horrid results if not for Brion's interference. She was relieved that she had him at her side but it also made her angry. She did not want to be envious of her brother's natural grasp but it seemed inevitable.

It made her sick.

"Tara, are you-"

She looked up at her half-brothers and brushed the discomforting feelings off her back, letting a fake smile brighten her face, "I'm fine," she interjected, "just admiring the view. It is a lovely day today."

"Yes," nodded Gregor, "I hadn't seen the sun in a fortnight."

"Can we go over to the fountain," Tara pointed over the horizon, "it's my favourite spot."

Brion stretched his arms over his head, "of course, sis."

"That sounds fine to me," Gregor shrugged and he started walking in the direction of the fountain. Tara kept her distance from them and they quickly resumed their idle chatting. The brothers finally settled on the grassy plain which was just drying from last night's rainstorm. They were merely a foot away from the fairy fountain that Tara was about to set out and sit beside. She skipped forward when her foot hit something on the ground.

She picked up the pebble and tossed it in the air, catching it with one hand as it came barrelling back down. Making sure that her half-brothers would not notice her, she crossed her eyes and concentrated on the small rock. The pebble shot up, stopping a second later in front of her face. She held it there for a moment and then directed it to twirl around, doing a loop-de-loop in the air. She blinked and the pebble dropped, now lost in an endless sea of grass.

A grin spread on her face; during that spectacle, she had felt no pain and had controlled the rock perfectly to do her bidding. Yes, it had only been a pebble but she _had_ control. She _wanted_ control. She _needed_ control.

"I...I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder. She twisted around and trotted down the small hill eagerly.

"Where are you going?"

She ignored Brion's query, letting her brother assume she was too far away for her to hear him. There was only one place in the entire grounds that held what she needed right now. She loped faster, the energy building inside her gave her the necessary boost to arrive at the spot in mere minutes. She crouched down and grazed her fingers against the moist boulder underneath her. "This will work," she whispered confidently -with confidence she did not even know she possessed- "it has to." She pressed her palms against the rough texture and permitted them to glow yellow. The rock shifted and shook before lifting carefully off the ground. Tara had never felt as carefree than she did at that moment; squatting on a misshaped boulder that was hovering mid-air because...of _her_ power. She felt no stinging pain overcome her and no blinding heat strike her; just a flighty tingle that eased her to her very soul.

She should have been more wary; been more careful with how she used her unstable power; but then, the nine year old girl cared only for the thrill of accomplishment. She spun around, giggling as the rock revolved around as swift as a spinning top. She ran a hand through her golden locks, waiting for the world to stand still once more. The woozy feeling in her stomach came and went in a snap and she smiled broadly. She looked back at the hill where her brothers were waiting and she felt the sudden need to boast- no, that wasn't the correct word. She wanted to prove to them that she was able to use the geokinesis correctly without making any mistakes. She was convinced that she could do no wrong; her powers were at their most powerful and she was still in full control.

Today, she was invincible.

She glided back to her brothers without any strain, "look," she waved her free arm around frantically, "look! I did it!"

Brion sat up, "did wha-what are you doing?!"

She jumped off the rock and held it over her head, "I've never been able to hold up a rock this big before, let alone for this long!" She beamed proudly but upon seeing his wary frown, her face fell.

She had expected him to be proud; to smile and congratulate her but instead, he said, "Tara, put it down."

"What? Why?"

"Just put it down carefully!"

"But, Brion, I finally did it!" She jumped off and stalked towards them, pointing at Brion crossly, "I haven't been able to control my powers_ at all _since we started and when I finally can; you just want me to," she lowered her voice mockingly, "_put it down?_ NO!"

Gregor's mouth opened, "um-"

"I'm serious, Tara, you shouldn't be playing around!"

Tara scoffed, "don't tell me what to do! Why can't you just be _happy_ for me?!"

"Tara," Gregor's warning went unnoticed by his two siblings, "Brion!"

Brion scrambled up to his knees, "what exactly are you saying, Tara?"

"Oh- I'm just saying that maybe you just don't WANT me to be able to control-"

"BRION! LOOK OUT!"

At Gregor's words, Brion noticed the fact that he was in the shadow of an object hovering over him. His face paled as he stared up at Tara's boulder. Tara gasped in shock; the rock must have been circling around them for a while now. She fruitlessly attempted to pull it back towards her but all she managed to do was jerk it so it was now vertically pointing at Brion. As it came crashing down, Brion had enough sense to jump out of its way. He tripped over Gregor, who had been sitting beside him, and the force of gravity sent him to the ground face-down. Tara winced instinctually but was surprised to see that the rock's coloured outline, which to just a second ago had been yellow, had turned a dim orange. It swerved before it hit the ground so instead of hitting the spot that Brion had just vacated, it collided with the nearest object there.

Tara saw the sharp edge of the rock smash against the spot where the fairy's back and wings connected. The loud repercussion resulted in a hazy cloud of dust. When it cleared, the fountain was destroyed. Through watery eyes, she saw that the rock was awkwardly lodged in the bottom tub; the once perfectly round rim was cracked and chipped. The centrepiece of the fountain was in parts; all scrambled about in the clutter. Some pieces were clearly being squished by the boulder while others lay discarded on the grass. The decapitated fairy head rolled down the small plane, stopping abruptly when it hit Tara's toe. She subdued a sob as she examined the disfigured, once intricate, features on the stone face.

Brion was sprawled on his belly and his right arm was extended at his side, softly glowing orange. Gregor was kneeling at his brother's feet, his forearm was covering his face in an attempt to shield himself from the flying debris. Gregor groaned as he lifted himself up. He put his face up to his elbow, emitting a loud raspy cough. He grimaced and traced his index finger along a small scratch on his cheek before rounding on her. "What the f-" he paused and his expression turned to that of a scowl. In a louder voice, he began again, "what is wrong with _you_?"

Tara was too swell-shocked to speak; all that came out when she opened her mouth was the sob that she had been holding in for who-knows-how-long.

Brion started to crawl away and, keeping his head lowered, sputtered a few drops of mud. He moaned and uttered a sound that showed his distaste for the brown muck. He rubbed his mouth on the back of his hand and attempted to stand up. Just when he was upright, he clutched his side and hissed in pain. This only got Gregor angrier and he shouted, "you almost killed him! What could have possibly been going through your mind to have possessed you to do something so absolutely _stupid_?" He did not wait for a response before he continued on, "I will tell you what you were thinking! _Nothing_! You never think _anything_ through! This was the final straw, Tara, and you just blew it!"

"Gre-"

"He told you! Brion told you to drop the rock and you didn't! By my crown, what were you trying to prove?!"

"I-"

"I don't want to hear it, Tara! It doesn't even matter; I- oh, just forget it! I don't want to think about this." With that final note, he reached over and helped Brion stand up, "come on, I will help you back to the castle."

"I can help too," squeaked Tara guiltily.

Gregor laughed harshly and shot her a disbelieving and cold look, "you have done enough."

He and Brion began their solemn trek to the castle; Brion was leaning on Gregor, one arm was wrapped around his brother's neck and the other was clutching his injured side. For one second, Brion looked back at her. Their eyes met but he didn't say anything; he merely stared, not with anger, but hurt in his gaze. His face was very dirty and there was a visible bruise on his chin. Tara felt worse by the second and kicked the fairy's head away.

Watching it roll away, her lips trembled and a few tears dripped into her mouth. She tasted the bittersweet taste of saltwater and subconsciously licked the excess drops from her lips. She remained as still as the fairy had been back in her original glory until her brothers were merely ants in the distance.

Her apology wafted into the wind and she began walking down the small plane of grass towards the giant palace.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

Tara tapped her knuckles against the aged wood of her parents' bedroom door. She had not been in or seen the inside of the royal chambers in years. She could not even remember when that was because she had been a baby then. She had always been cared for by a nanny (her parents were always too busy to properly care for their children) and so there was no reason for her to go into her parents' room.

No one answered the sturdy knock and the blonde sighed, dropping her head dejectedly. She rested her fist on the door, unsure if she should attempt again. If her mother was awake, she would have at least made her presence known by then. Tara had been hoping to see her mother and wish the ailing woman well. To make matters (and that day) worse, when they came back to the tower, Sergei -the royal advisor- had informed them that the queen was in her sickbed. Apparently, her health had been receding immensely during the previous year and she had become too weak to stand, let alone come to the door. She figured that her mother had decided to rest for the remainder of the night but praying on some slim hope, she knocked a second time. Her brothers had already come to visit but after- she sighed, not wanting to think about the afternoon- she made an excuse why she would wait until later to see her mother.

When she was met with silences, she spun her heel around, heading for the long route to her room. Tara did not want to pass either of her brothers' rooms and there was only one way to do that. She hugged herself, shivering from the incessant cold that plagued the castle's hallways at night. The silence gave Tara an eerie foreboding feeling, and feeling the hairs on her arms and neck begin to rise, she quickened her walk. What sounded like a yell screeched in the near distance and Tara's breath caught in her throat. She tried to tell herself that it was only her imagination acting up but that was quickly dashed when the scream was followed by more voices shouting at gratuitously loud volumes. She was nearing the laboratory and she realised that the voices were familiar to her ears. She peered past the corner; the door was surprisingly ajar and two women were having a heated discussion in front of it.

"I don't have to put up with this," the first woman snarked and dramatically billowed her long brown coat about.

The second woman, Dr. Jace, tried to stop her. "Rachel," she pleaded, "stop! We can discuss this like rationalized adults! There's no reason to do something drastic!" She tried to clutch Rachel's elbow but the other woman whacked her away abrasively.

"No way, Dr. J," Rachel growled, "our agreement was that we'd steal the money for you and fight those kids...but when you signed my crew up for the job, you said no one would be hurt, or at least, none of us."

"We didn't think that you would endure a serious injury, Rachel!"

Rachel, her face hidden beneath her hood, crossed her arms and turned away from the doctor, "whatever." She tapped the side of her skull and scoffed, "if Vi hadn't been able to heal me, I could have bled to death because of that little brat. Not only did I get a concussion but that rock cut my head wide open."

"But-but," Dr. Jace stumbled, "you said so yourself, Lik'sha healed you!"

"Stop calling her that! And- that's not the point! We demand some compensation for what happened." She rubbed her thumb gingerly against the rest of her fingers to emphasize her point.

"We gave you the money we promised," Dr. Jace huffed.

Rachel's fists curled up tightly and she twisted back to face the doctor. Her hood promptly fell off her head, revealing long red hair that was neatly tied back in a low pony tail. It looked oddly familiar but Tara couldn't quite place where she'd seen the distinctive hairstyle before. "You know what? Keep your filthy money, Jace." Her pony tail swivelled with rage and she continued, "I don't care anymore but when I tell Stretch, he might not be so understanding."

"Rachel!"

"For the last time, my _name_ is Charcoal! Rachel McCarthy might as well be dead." Tara bit back the shock she felt and she watched in silence as Rachel -or Charcoal- raised her hood again. "I won't be seeing you around, Dr. J, 'cause this will definitely be the last time you, Immortus or any of your cronies can count on the Zeta Metas to have their backs." She started to storm away when she stiffened, "but I should tell you that her royal highness is standing over there," she pointed directly at Tara and sniffed before resuming her walk, disappearing into the shadows of the castle.

Dr. Jace sighed, "come here, miss. Markov."

Tara squeaked and clamped her hands together nervously. She shuffled forward and mumbled sheepishly, "um- I'm sorry, Dr. Jace, I didn't meant to walk in on...that."

"It's quite," Dr. Jace faltered on her words, "all right." Her eyes darted over to where Charcoal had just been standing and she beckoned Tara closer, "I need to speak with you. Can you come in?"

She hesitated; common sense told her to decline and then run and hide under the covers of her bed. Perhaps she would find that this entire day had been one big nightmare and when she woke up the next morning, her brothers would be speaking with her, her mother would be healthy and everything else would make some sense. Her id, the self-destructive force that kept driving her to do these things, was the one who blurted out, "all right, Dr. Jace, but I should be going back to my room soon. It's after-"

She was forcefully lowered into a chair and wheeled into the laboratory, "-curfew?"

Dozens of people crowded around her, with Sivana and Immortus up front. Dr. Sivana was grumbling to himself more than his associates, saying things like, "I always knew that the little nuisance would be the end of us," and, "why did I agree to this?" As his mutterings became more garbled, she could only make out phrases like, "this is the last time I team up with Immortus," and, "I should have stuck to fighting Capitan Marvel; at least he was never this nosy."

Dr. Jace finished explaining what happened to General Immortus in a whisper. Immortus nodded and spoke to Dr. Jace in his gravelly voice, "are you certain? Well, if you don't even know how much she heard then-"

Dr. Jace cut him off, swiping her hand against the top of Tara's seat, "Rachel was practically screaming at the top of her lungs. I'm surprised the rest of the family didn't come see what was happening."

"Oh."

"What do you suggest we do?"

General Immortus clicked his tongue, "what you would do with any captured soldier. Interrogation."

The entire crowd shuffled closer to her and she was thankful that she did not suffer from claustrophobia. "So how do we do this," Dr. Sivana's nose turned from her to General Immortus.

General Immortus marched backwards and commanded, "leave us!" The crowd slowly dispersed and the scientists went back to their previous work, leaving only the two doctors that she was most familiar with and the was veteran leader. General Immortus nodded once more and Tara felt the chair being swung around so that she was gazing up at Dr. Jace. The doctor's glasses glimmered, "Tara, do you remember the woman from before? Do you recognize her at all?"

She hesitated and scraped her fingernails against the armrest, "she said that she was Charcoal but you kept calling her Rachel..."

"That's 'cause Charcoal and Rachel are the same person. Charcoal's just her meta name. It doesn't matter whether you're a hero or a villain, it definitely doesn't hurt to have a secret ID," Dr. Sivana cackled.

"Why was she here," Tara asked softly.

"She was trying to scam us for more money," Dr. Sivana growled. Dr. Jace cleared her throat and the other doctor shrugged, "what? It doesn't matter anymore, the little brat was going to figure it out anyways."

Tara mumbled, "will you stop that?"

"What are you talking about," Dr. Sivana enquired quite rudely, "stop what?!"

"I-Insulting me," she whispered, "I am not a nuisance or a brat and I'm not nosy!"

Dr. Sivana snorted, "only nosy people eavesdrop."

Tara clenched her jaw and was grateful when Dr. Jace clucked, "Thaddeus, please."

"Oh, stop brown-nosing, Helga, you know as well as I do that we're going to have to tell her everything to keep her from babbling," Dr. Sivana told her.

"General, please tell him that-" Dr. Jace appealed for Immortus' support only to be interrupted by him mid-sentence.

He stroked his chin in thought, "I'm afraid that Dr. Sivana is correct."

Dr. Jace gasped, "what?"

"If we let her leave now, there will be nothing stopping her from telling her family or trying to find out more about our plans. This way, we can take precautions to ensure that we're not derailed any further."

Dr. Sivana grinned triumphantly, "well, now that _that_ is settled...tell us, kid, what do you know?"

Tara didn't reply, instead she kept her gaze glued to her lap, fidgeting uncomfortably in the chair.

"Tell us," General Immortus ordered, sending shivers down her spine.

"I-you hired the Zeta Metas to...rob the bank...but I don't know why."

"Continue."

"I know that you...General Immortus...he is working with something called the Brotherhood and that you-er, he tried to kill the Doom Patrol even though he told my mother and father that they were a superhero team."

That had caught them off guard.

"How did you know that?" General Immortus barked at her.

"..."

"She obviously eavesdropped on your conversation with Lau-Madame Rouge. Didn't you?" Tara bit her lip and looked guiltily away. Dr. Sivana released a mighty guffaw and leered, "rotten liar, she is."

She snapped her head up and, with more confidence, shouted, "stop insulting me!"

Dr. Sivana waved her off and General Immortus continued the interrogation by asking, "anything else?"

"No...I don't...think so." She lowered her gaze again, "why did you ask the Zeta Metas to rob the bank?"

"Three reasons; it was a test of sorts for you and your brother. We wanted to see how you'd use your skills in a real confrontation against real super-powered villains," General Immortus said.

Dr. Sivana strode closer to her and held two fingers up to his chest, "secondly, it was to give you some exposure so that the civilians would think you were actually 'the protectors of the city'."

"So," she mused, "we aren't?"

"When a cape's on the job, the police aren't that mindful of what happens behind the scenes."

She could smell the putrid scent of his breath on her face. She turned her head so she wouldn't be eye to eye with the lecherous doctor. "It's," she opined, "true then? You...really are...v-v-vil..."

"Villains," he finished her sentence, "correct you are."

General Immortus spoke behind his accomplice, "although we did want to go on with the plan without you knowing for at least a little longer, you knowing might actually be a blessing in disguise."

For a second, she couldn't fathom what the meaning behind his words was, "...you want my brother and I to work for you and...commit crimes?"

"Exactly. I don't doubt you will be troubled at first but after you get familiar with it, you will enjoy it."

"My father-"

"Your father," Dr. Sivana spat, "will know nothing about this." Tara rubbed the saliva off her face and recoiled, pressing her back against the squishy back of her seat, trying to get as much space separating her and the villain.

General Immortus explained, "your parents will remain none the wiser. They may be in charge of the entire country but they aren't aware of every little thing that happens. That is why your father has a royal counsel and a personal advisor." He added smugly, "little does he know that the majority of them have been paid off, or in the case of Sergei – blackmailed. Anyways, we have a consistency plan if they find out the truth so we're not worried about you 'accidentally' telling them."

Dr. Sivana grinned gleefully, "we'd tell you what would happen...but it's too unpleasant."

"What about-" Tara began desperately.

"Your brother?" Dr. Sivana scoffed, "you're just children, what can you do?"

"I-" she stopped and lowered her head again. Her hair shadowed her face and she mumbled, "we may just be children..." She raised her leg, kicking Dr. Sivana in his kneecap, "...but we're not villains." Dr. Sivana howled in pain and staggered backwards. Tara managed to see him trip off his feet as she leaped off the chair and scampered out of the laboratory, no longer attentive to her environs. She somehow arrived at her bedroom door and fell to her bed.

* * *

Tara glanced over at the clock on her bedside table; the hands on the timepiece were on 12:04 and she sighed, she had been lying restlessly on her bed for the past four hours. She focused back on the ceiling and rubbed one eye tentatively. Her cheeks were splotched from the tears previously shed.

She shoved her covers off her body and sniffed. She could not stay at the castle much longer, she could not continue being a pawn in Immortus' game of chess and she could not face Gregor or Brion again or face the possibility that she could hurt them if she lost control. She knew what she had to do; she saw no other option.

She had to leave.

She had to run away.

* * *

**Holy super long chapter Batman! **

**[1] _"Meta-humans?" questioned Dr. Sivana as he watched the police sirens wail, "not your kids, I hope."_**

**You all know the HIVE Five, correct? They're well known for minor crimes like robberies and battery, like what the Zeta Metas are doing at the beginning of the chapter. Dr. Sivana is just referring to how Dr. Jace tried to convert Mammoth and his sister Shimmer into heroes but the siblings decided to turn to the side of crime instead. Sivana's a jerk even to his partners-in-crime, what can I say?**

**[2] _Multiple "By my crown!" catchphrases._**

**Psh, in the Outsiders, that's like Brion's freakin' catchphrase.**

**Conner and Bart are coming back to the Titans! Squee! **

***hugs Bart***

**Review! You know you want to! Next chapter will be WAY shorter than usual and will mark a new period in Terra's life, namely runaway Tara. Nope, no Terra yet. Be patient!**


	8. Chapter Seven: Butterfly Clip

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Markov family or the country of Markovia. _

**Author's Note: Okay, so this is the final chapter featuring the Markov family as main characters. They'll still have a minor part in the story and be mentioned frequently, but from now on it's all about Tara's trip from Markovia to Jump City and everything in between. **

**Be prepared for A LOT of cameos from characters from the DC Universe in the chapters to come, again from both the comics and TV show...but who could they be? Only I know! Buahaha!**

**So, now enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Her mind was made up.

During the course of the night, she thought long and hard about all of the things that had happened to her the past two years. She had made so many mistakes and each one had caused a dramatic happening in her life. Her latest rash act had nearly come at the loss of her brother's life and had ultimately destroyed the thin remnants of her relationship with her eldest brother. She could not see how she could continue like this; she obviously could not learn from her previous mistakes. The same questions kept running through her mind but she could not find the answers: how many times had she already hurt someone, mentally or physically, due to her impulsive behaviour? How many times would surely come where she would lose control again? Next time, perhaps her brother would not be so lucky. She glanced down at the back of her hands and curled them into tight balls making her knuckles turned white. She imagined them highlighted with the vibrant yellow that they usually did when she used her powers and sniffed, stretching her fingers out.

'_Never again.'_

That afternoon, which had started out so promising, had been a complete disaster. Gregor might as well have told her that he despised her and she had actually shouted at Brion before the rock she was controlling nearly trampled him. She and Brion had never fought before they received their powers and Tara mentally cursed herself for feeling so envious of her brother's natural grasp. Nevertheless, she was still surprised that she had exploded at him when he had only been trying to tell her to be careful. She nibbled her index fingernail absently, she could not blame either of her brothers for resenting her; they both had good reasons for feeling in such a manner.

'_Why didn't I listen?_'

Her family would be better off without her, she thought, and they would be safer too. Gregor would be thrilled and she could not fathom what Brion's reaction would be after what had happened that afternoon. He would probably be happy that she would not be around to further ruin his life, she thought bitterly as she blinked up at the ceiling of her room. Her father would not care; good riddance, he would say, why would her want the constant reminder of his wife's ultimate betrayal parading around his home? Then there was her mother who was the only member of their family who did not hold any offence against the young princess. She wondered briefly what would have happened if her mother had fled off with Tara's biological father, the mysterious American that the Queen had fallen for, but that was a moot point. Although Tara hated to even consider the possibility, even if her mother were to recover and be able to somewhat function again in everyday life, she would never be as healthy as she was once. She did not want to imagine that her mother's illness could lead to the poor woman being on her deathbed, but in her sullen mood, Tara had to consider that daunting prospect.

Tara lifted herself up and walked barefoot all the way to the grand wardrobe at the side of her room. She dug deep behind the dozens of dresses and with a grunt; she pulled out a small blue backpack from the fray. It was plain in colour and shape, with the price tag still attached. She had bought it two months after she had gone to Bzoq on her second trip out of the castle grounds. She, Brion and Gregor visited the small town called Granstok and acting on a whim, she had purchased the small bag in case she ever needed it. She sat back down on the edge of her bed and snapped the front of the backpack open. She examined the empty innards of the bag and then closed it up again.

'_This will do,_' she thought readily, '_I just need to decide what to pack._'

She clicked her tongue; she would worry about that in the morning. She stuffed her bag underneath the bed and turned her attention to the drawn curtains of her window. Her room was not that high-up and she would be able to easily climb down the tower wall to the ground below. The tower was decorated with long vines that would make the climb easier.

Her eyes were starting to feel heavy underneath the weight of her eyelids, she had been up way past her usual bedtime to plan both her baggage and escape route and sleep was now calling her. She made a checklist in her mind for that day; leading the list was visiting two members of her family and sharing two distinct pieces of information with them. She had to tell Brion about what was happening with Immortus, Jace, Sivana and their accomplices in crime. The question was if he would listen to her; sadly, she would not be surprised if he refused to believe her.

'_I deserve it,_' she thought sadly as she fluffed her goose-down pillow lethargically.

The second thing she had to get off her chest was the fact that she knew about her mother's affair. She and her brothers might have agreed to not telling their parents that they knew, but considering the circumstances, Tara felt that it was only fair that her mother know before Tara left, if just to put both females at ease.

She rested her head on the cushion and closed her eyes; she would definitely do both tomorrow.

* * *

Tara walked out of her bedroom early the next morning and scanned the hallway hopefully, only to feel disappointment when she saw no trace of her elder brother around. As she walked towards her brother's room, she tried to recall the fuzzy dream she had had last night. I had started out like her most re-occurring dream, with her flying in the sky but instead of laughing, she had been bawling her eyes out. The sky was dark and thunderous but instead of raining drops of water, decapitated fairy heads fell out of the cumulonimbus clouds in gigantic clusters. She tried to escape, but no matter where she turned, it proved to be futile. She heard the rocks in her hands shatter but before she fell, she had awoken in sweat and tears. The last thing she remembered was hearing an old man's coarse laughter echo in the sky.

She would have recognized that horrible sound in a heartbeat despite never having heard General Immortus actually laugh before. She shuddered inwardly just thinking of the ringleader of the group of villainous people that her father had allowed to come into their home and perform experiments on his children. It had turned out that they were villains, a crowd of unpleasant folks who were bent on committing crimes in Markovia. Tara had uncovered their treacherous plot the previous night by coming into a conversation at the wrong time. She now knew their plans to a certain degree; bribing the royal counsel and tricking the Markov family had only been the tip of the iceberg. Their main objective had been operating from the inside and using impressionable youngsters, namely her and her brother, as their puppets in a bigger domination plan. She had to do something about it, even if she herself could not stop them.

She walked down the staircase, two steps at a time, and when she turned the corner, she felt her nerves set. A flash of auburn flickered in her immediate sight and she saw the young prince walking tiredly straight for her. She forced herself forward and called, "Brion! I need to talk to you...please?"

An uncomfortable frown accented Brion's features before he mumbled exhaustedly, "what about?"

"Many things," she replied, staring down at her shoes, "it's important."

Brion rubbed his arm and stuttered, "I...but...um..."

"I-It's fine if you hate me now, Brion," her voice cracked, "but I _need_ to talk to you."

He stirred, his eyes gauging out in astonishment, "what? I don't hate you!"

"You _don't_," she repeated doubtfully, "but-"

"Tara, I admit I am a bit upset about what happened but I could never hate you."

"Thank you. It means a lot," Tara bit back her emotions and stared up at him seriously, "now, it's important we talk."

"You keep saying that," he said, "what's wrong?"

"I was right about them, they're villains." Brion gasped, immediately knowing who she was talking about. Tara continued, "I saw Charcoal at the laboratory last night. They...paid the Zeta Metas to fight us and they probably took most of the money from that robbery too."

"What? Why would they do that?"

"It was all part of a bigger plan," she explained, "They want to take over Markovia! They started off small but they've already gotten most of the members of the counsel on their side and they wanted to us too." She spat out in scorn, "Immortus didn't even care that I knew, he said we would eventually grow to love being _evil_ like them."

"But, he would never allow them to do this," Brion countered, still shocked.

"Father doesn't know and if they have their way, he won't know until it is too late," Tara said sombrely.

Brion groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in aggravation, "what are we going to do?"

"I can't do anything, Brion, it's up to you. You can fight back, I know you can."

"Wait, what?"

She laughed hollowly, "Brion, I'm not going to use those powers ever again, and trust me, I'd only do something wrong again. I can't risk that, I-I can't..." She turned away and exhaled deeply, "I'm leaving, Brion," she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and started to walk away, "I can't lose any of you."

She half expected him to follow her but he didn't, too overwhelmed to try. '_Good_,' she thought, '_that makes this easier_.' She dragged her feet along the corridor, up a staircase, past Gregor's room, and then stopped at the familiar door. She knocked fervently and called, "Father? Mother?" She waited for a moment and upon hearing no response, she figured that her father was not inside. With new hope, she said, "Mother, I am coming in, all right?"

She creaked the door open just enough to let her wiggle through. Her parents' bedroom was large, but almost completely covered by the grand king-sized bed centered in the middle of the room. Tara saw the lump underneath the silky blue sheets; her mother was so deeply snuggled inside the sheets that they began at the tip of her nose so only the top of her head was visible. Tara came forward and said, "Mother, I need to talk to you."

Her mother shifted and lowered her covers to just below her armpits. She whispered, "Tara..."

"Mother, how are you feeling?"

"I have been better," her mother mumbled as she lifted herself up into a semi-sitting position by placing her back against the wall, "but why are you here, dear?"

"I-I just wanted to tell you that I love you very much," Tara stuttered, losing her nerve.

"I love you too, dear," she nodded softly.

"Actually, Mother," she tried again, "I do have something else to tell you...I-I know."

"Know?"

Tara moved forward so she was standing at her mother's side, "I know about...I know...I know that he's not my father." Tara lowered her head and waited to hear her mother's response. Upon not hearing anything, she added, "I know about John Davies." She looked up and saw that her mother's pale face was contorted in shock. "Mother?"

It successfully snapped the older woman out of her reverie. "Oh, my little girl," she whimpered as tears began swelling up in her eyes. She sobbed, "oh, my princess; my beautiful little baby girl. How did you ever find out?"

Tara sighed, "I've known for two years, Mother, I found out when I went to Bzoq with Brion...from Augustus Sidorov and his nephew."

She nodded, "oh yes, Augustus did know, didn't he?" She shook her head, "and do your brothers-"

"Yes," Tara nodded, "we all know but- why, Mother?"

Queen Anne dabbed her closed eye with her fingertip, "you are young, my daughter, much too young to understand the meaning behind love...but I loved your father, your real father, so much. It hurts me more than I can bear to know that he never met you. Oh, what must you think of me?"

"I told you, Mother, I love you..." She furrowed her eyebrows, "what about hi-I mean, Father, the king? Why did you marry someone you didn't love?"

"Viktor and I were complicated, civil at best, but once upon a time, perhaps I did love him."

After a second, Tara mumbled, "I just wanted to let you know that we knew. Um..."

The Queen lifted one fragile hand and stroked Tara's cheek lovingly, "you may have my face but your heart comes from John." She sunk back into her bed, "I need to rest, Tara, but thank you."

"Sleep well, Mother," she walked out of the room and closed the door softly; "I'll miss you."

* * *

Tara spent the rest of the day packing diligently, and finally, as sunset came and went, Tara was ready to leave.

She jammed the tan-coloured boot on her foot and examined herself in the mirror; the uniform was the most practical thing she had to wear despite its association with Immortus' cause. She turned to her backpack and quickly looked over the objects inside: there was some of the basic essentials, delicates and toiletries plus a few objects that she had in her room that she thought she could later pawn off for some money like jewellery and other trinkets. In the smaller bag pocket, she stuffed in a small brown bag full of money. She placed the straps on her shoulders, and ran to the window.

"It's now or never."

She was about to open the window when someone knocked on her door.

"Yes?"

She went over to the door and opened it, expecting to see someone there. She looked around at the practically bare corridor in confusion, "anyone there?" She was about to close the door when she noticed something lying at her feet. It was a hastily wrapped package; taped on it was a white envelope with her name signed in calligraphy. She picked the package up and removed the covering, not expecting what was uncovered. She gasped at the sight of the beautiful-looking accessory. It was a silver hair clip of unique design; the comb's teeth were attached to what looked like a butterfly. She turned the clip around, examining it thoroughly, amazed at it. She placed it on her bed and then ripped the envelope open; a letter dropped to her other hand. She uncurled it and read what it said:

_Tara,_

_Whatever it is you're planning to do, I'm not sure but I do know I won't be able to stop you. I just wanted to let you know that no matter what happens, whatever you do, I will always care for you and will always be there if you need me to be. It does not matter that our parentage is different; you're the greatest sister I could have asked for_

_Please, don't do anything you will regret; I'll never forget you, Tara, please be safe._

_Your brother,_

_Brion_

_Ps. I bought this for you after the incident at Markovsburg. It's not much and I don't know how much you'll like it but it's the thought that counts, right?_

Tears swum to her eyes but she wiped them away; she crumbled the letter up into a ball and stuffed it in her pocket so she could read the touching note again later. She then softly placed the butterfly clip in an opening in her backpack and swung it back over her shoulder. She headed for the window and opened it, letting the gentle breeze waft its way into her quarters. She climbed on the awning and, slightly struggling, she lowered her foot, straining until it made contact with a vine. She tangled it slightly and then lowered herself, making sure not to loosen her grip on the sill. She made her way down the castle wall with hardly any issues; she would grab onto the small crooks and vines, lower her feet into the tangles and slide down against the stone wall.

When she was six feet up, she lost her footing, causing small pebbles of stone to fall the remaining distance to the ground below but luckily, she managed to stop her fall and continued down the tower wall until she was only two feet up. She jumped down, landing lithely on her feet, and then started to run; run down the hills to the property gate and then start climbing, heading for the unknown. She ran until her lungs were unable to withstand any more. She slouched her back forward and propped her sweaty palms on her knees, taking slow and unsteady breaths.

A caw sung in the wind, its familiarity slammed into Tara with a jolt, causing her to jump up and look around wildly. Above her, where the moonlight hit perfectly, rested a small bird with black feathers and an orange underbelly. It hopped around, finally facing her, revealing the deformed facial features of the poor bird. Tara felt her blood run cold, the memory stuck out like a sore thumb; it was the same bird that had entranced her so very long ago.

The night sky glowed with millions of shiny stars, and the moon created a spotlight for Tara to follow, seeing as she had no clear destination in mind. She started to walk again just as the little bird spread its wings and flew into the dark horizon, leaving Tara in its wake.

* * *

**Okay, so I lied, there was a little bit more of sibling fluff.**

**Yep. Brion gave Tara the butterfly clip. In "Terra", they made it seem like the clip had some sentimental value...and before the Titans; the people she was closest to were her family. What; did you think she bought it at the nearest outlet store for 20% off?**

**Haha, the return of the Slade-bird. My two favourite metaphors from the previous chapters were the fairy fountain which represented Tara's childhood and innocence and the small bird which foreshadows what is to come...SLADE WILSON! DUNDUNDUN! Wait, you already knew that. **

**Okay, speaking of, I still need opinions; should I keep the largely controversial pairing of Terra/Slade or not? It's absolutely _creepy_ on Slade's part, yes, but there _were_ undertones of it in the show. Not to mention the fact that it was kind of-sort of epic _and_ comic CANON! Or...should I play it safe and keep them as Master and Apprentice and have Terra _just_ be with Beast Boy? I need help with this, people!**


	9. Chapter Eight: Heroes Day

_Disclaimer: I do not own any character or location mentioned except for Denise's brother Alex Howard but he's not even that important. _

**Author's Note: I hate my computer mouse...I need to buy a new one. Another late chapter; I was planning to finish it by last Saturday, but I was pretty busy on Friday and I wasn't even at home on Saturday. I got home on Sunday morning with no sleep and no creative process. Then, school got in the way and I got distracted with other writing projects, fanfictions and an essay for English class.**

**I think I have some sort of writer's block. It's probably backlash from what has recently occurred to some of my favourite Titans members. To make it quite simple: number one, Lian Harper (the young daughter of Roy Harper and Jade Nguyen, whom most of you know as Speedy and Cheshire) should not be dead. Number two, there should be a comedic awkward moment between Cassie, Conner and Tim now that Conner kinda knows about Cassie and Tim's short relationship after his death. Well, he knows that they kissed. Heh. Thirdly, Mia (Speedy) better not go rogue with Ollie (Green Arrow) and become a killer. Fourthly, whatever happened to the entire Kory/Dick subplot in the JLA that they teased we were going to have? Last time I checked, 'sparks between Starfire and Batman' did not equal have Starfire leave the team and join the REBELS! And lastly: Beast Boy, not Wonder Girl, should be the leader of the Titans. **

**GAR LOGAN FOR TEEN TITANS LEADER! That, or give him his own series. Preferably, with Raven so that we can actually get some on-panel progress with their relationship. I've never bought a comic book in my life, but I would SO buy one with the title 'BEAST BOY AND RAVEN' on the cover. Kthnxbye! **

**Like before; the part where the entire dialogue is in italics means that they are speaking English.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

The dawn broke through the wispy clouds as the early sun rose; a clear indication of how long Tara had been walking. She had taken only a few breathers during the night; trudging along the darkness with no destination in mind. Her legs wobbled numbly as she walked into what looked like a public park; the metallic poles on either side of the swing-set glinted in the pale sunlight and the red play structure looked most poignant with its lack of playful children.

Tara managed to pass the jungle gym when her legs gave way. She groaned and promptly collapsed on the grass, feeling the strain of over ten hours of movement finally taking their toll. Her stomach rumbled and the unpleasant feeling built up to the back of her throat, leading Tara to crawl to the bush nearest to her. She heaved into it, her unsteady hands clutching the spiky branches of the bush, and then she fell on her back with an oomph.

"That was disgusting," she whimpered, using the side of her hand to wipe the remaining vomit from her mouth.

She struggled to her feet and leaned towards a thick looking tree. Tara slid down to its base, unable to move her weak body along for another second, and rested her aching back against the cool bark. Still hugging her midsection, she tried to steady her uneven breathing, up to the point where she felt her eyes beginning to droop and head starting to loll to the side. She jerked herself awake, and seeing the slight change in the sky, she decided that it was time to continue on. She brushed off the dirt that was on her uniform before returning to the pathway leading across the park. Her steps were slow and comparable to those of a slow tortoise, especially alongside the joggers running past her like coloured blurs. Few of them paid the runaway princess any attention; oblivious to anything outside the loud music banging through their headphones. Tara grasped the straps of her backpack tightly and, without straining herself, she fastened her pace.

The archway at the other end of the park opened up to a long row of suburban houses. Most of the homes sat silently with their drapes firmly shut; their occupants were most likely still asleep or just starting up their day. Tara eyed the two story homes with envy, wondering what sort of people lived there. She briefly imagined what her life would be, living in one of these quaint hovels rather than the humongous castle she had been accustomed to, with a normal family and perhaps even a normal life. The word was strange on her lips, she mused, as she was hardly the expert on what normalcy even meant.

She balanced her feet along the curb, putting one foot in front of the other until she reached the open road. At the end of this long street, a traffic light turned green and all the cars that had been waiting impatiently roared and drove off. When the smoke exhaust cleared, she realised with outmost surprise that she recognized where she was. Dr. Jace had driven by that very same spot while rushing them to downtown Markovsburg. The ghastly reminder of what happened at Markovia's biggest bank glared back at her as though taunting the princess, leading said girl's mood to deteriorate completely. She shook her head, trying to forget the memories clouding her thoughts. With a heavy sigh, she slid on to the sidewalk and continued walking, but she was careful not to make any prolonged eye contact with any of the commoners who walked past her. If she was near the bank, there was a chance that someone might recognize her, especially since she was wearing the exact outfit as before.

As she passed a store on the street corner; she was distracted by the voices of two boys arguing. For a second, she thought of Brion and Gregor, but she quickly reprimanded herself for thinking about her brothers. One of the adolescents was scoffing, "my dad says that The Batman is just an urban legend. He probably doesn't even exist!" Tara's feet stopped abruptly and she looked subtly over in the direction of the voice; while the voices did not belong to either of her brothers, she had to admit that something about the so-called 'Batman' had piqued her interest. It was as if it was familiar to her, but she couldn't recall anyone ever mention something as ludicrous as a _bat man _to her, ever.

"Tell that to _all_ of the criminals over in Gotham City...oh wait," his companion, the other boy, gasped sardonically and placed a hand on his cheek, "you can't 'cause Batman's put them all in jail!" He finished his retort with a haughty smirk, which was clearly meant to say that the boy thought he had won the argument.

The two boys were about Gregor's age and height, and the second boy was definitely as smug as her eldest brother could sometimes be. Tara almost smiled at the comparison -just almost- and continued to watch the boys from the corner of her eye. They were standing in front of what looked like a bookstore, but she could smell a strong scent of coffee and biscuits wafting through the open door. On top of the bigger door -the one that the two boys were arguing in front of- was a sign shaped like an open book; the words 'Book' and 'Marks' were separated by the bind. In bold letters, on top of the smaller door, was a coffee logo with the title 'MoonDollars' imprinted on it.

The first boy, a brunet, let go of the door. He crossed his arms and shot his friend a sceptical frown, "that's just what they say, Dan, but it doesn't mean it's true." The second boy looked affronted by the comment and the first boy continued, "I don't know, like, it's a grown man going around dressed up like a bat; sounds made up if you ask me. Not to mention, he supposedly doesn't even have any powers! Not like," he struck a dramatic pose, "Superman!"

"A grown man dressed up like-Henry, have you seen Superman's costume?! He wears _tights_ and his underwear on the outside," Dan, who was also a brunet but a few inches taller than the first boy, countered. He plopped a piece of gum in his mouth and started chewing, "hey, what time is it?"

Henry lifted up his sleeve and checked the bulky plastic watch on his wrist, "nine-ish. Oh, and way to change the subject...just because you know that Superman is the best superhero ever! He has, like, a million different powers, he's from outer space and...he's just...super!"

"Whatever," Dan rolled his eyes, "practice starts in half an hour, we shouldn't have even stopped here."

Henry shook the bag in his hand, "there was a new issue of X-men out, and I _had_ to get it!"

The two boys ran off in the opposite direction of Tara; the last thing she heard from them was Dan saying, "I betcha that Batman could take Superman in a fight, easy," and Henry playfully shoving his friend with the small bag attached to his wrist. The princess found herself drawn to the storefront; she swung the door open and cautiously walked inside. There were displays all over the store full of books and all related things. She stopped at the shelves that held stacks of magazines and newspapers. Many of these headlines mentioned strange words like 'Booster Gold', 'Amazons' and 'LexCorp'. One newspaper in particular caught her eye and so she lifted it up to her face and unfolded it.

"Bedlam Invasion," she read the title out loud.

Just beside the article was a photograph of a man addressing an audience from a large podium. He was a middle-aged man with a hooked nose and prominent cheekbones. His red hair was tainted with a strand of white hair on each side of his face; it fell just inches above his shoulders in an A-line cut. She scanned the article which went on to describe what had occurred during the previous day's news conference with the ruthless dictator. The journalist had also written their distaste with how the Markovian government was handling the imminent war between the two countries.

"Excuse me," a high voice spoke in broken Romanian, "have you...been seeing...my brother?"

Tara jumped in surprise when a tiny hand tapped her shoulder and she squeaked, "e-excuse me?" The newspaper dropped to the floor and Tara stared down at it in surprise.

The speaker picked up the newspaper and promptly handed it back to Tara, "I didn't...mean...to scare you."

Tara uttered a thank you underneath her breath and held the newspaper tightly against her chest. The person was a girl who was probably just a little older than Tara herself. She had long blonde hair, with frizzy curls swivelling down her back. The girl stuffed her hands in the pockets of her pink hoodie and a faint blush spread over her freckled face, "I'm sorry; I don't...talk...Romanian that good."

"It's all right..."

The girl nodded shyly but then twisted around, as though she was searching for something. "_Where is he_?"

Tara perked up, upon understanding the girl's perfect accent, and queried in English, "wait, _are you American_?"

The girl looked surprised but nodded, "_Yea, I am! How'd you know?_"

"_I learnt English when I was little..._" she paused, "_and I recognized your accent. Are you from New York_?"

"_Gotham_," the girl said disdainfully and her buttoned nose crinkled, "_my family just moved here a few months ago_." Keeping her eyes glued to the floor, she introduced herself, ""_my name's Denise, by the way, um, what's yours_?"

Tara hesitated, "_oh,_ _er,_ _Tara_." Out of practice, she had almost announced herself by full name and title which would have been problematic to say the least.

She lifted her hand up to the space between them and after a few seconds, Denise shook her hand softly, "_I didn't think I'd meet anyone my age here, especially not this early on a weekend...or someone who can speak English._"

Tara chucked nervously, "_oh, I'm just here with my...parents. They let me explore the store by myself._"

Denise nodded and muttered, "_yea, I was kinda curious_."

Tara struggled with her words before deciding on a believable lie, "_my parents sorta made me to come along, I think I'd be still asleep if they hadn't._"

Denise eyed her strangely, clasping her hands together, but then she nodded understandingly, "_that sounds like my brother. My mom makes him bring me along all the time_." She sighed and added morosely, "_he always just leaves me alone though and I can never find him. This is such a big store, and he's always going off to different places. _"

"_That sounds really mean...your brother actually does that_?"

"_Uh-huh_," she nodded, "_I thought he might be over here...because he likes to read about superheroes._" She motioned over to the newspapers, and it seemed that the bashful girl felt more comfortable around Tara because she added with a guffaw, "_he's obsessed with all the big-shot superheroes in America_."

"_Superheroes_," Tara repeated, glancing back at the stands.

Denise smirked, "_it can get so annoying sometimes. Like, I can hear about the Justice Society so many times before I explode! Okay, Power Girl is a hottie, we get it already!_"

Tara briefly wondered what Denise meant by referring someone as 'hot'; the way she rolled her eyes made it seem like she wasn't just making a comment about body temperature. She found herself very interested in what her new friend was saying; ever since becoming empowered with geokinesis, she had found the topic of superheroes very fascinating.

"_There's an entire society of Superheroes_? _Really_?"

Denise replied with a quick nod, "_I'm surprised you didn't know that already_."

"_Why?_"

"_Well_," she faltered, "_you are dressed like one. I would have bet you'd be a super-freak just like my brother, Alex_." As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes widened in shock and she clasped both hands over her mouth. Her face flushed and she apologized rapidly, "_oh my god, that came out all wrong! I didn't mean it like that! _"

She looked sincere so Tara patted her shoulder and comforted her, "_no, it's okay. I'd explain why I'm wearing these clothes but...it would take too long_."

"_But_," Denise said, "_that was so mean of me! I'm usually not like that!_"

"_Don't worry about it_," Tara told her and eager to change the subject, she asked, "_didn't you say you were looking for your brother before_?"

Denise blinked, "_oh right, I almost forgot about that."_

"_I can help you find him if you want_."

Denise brightened enthusiastically, "_really? Oh, that would be great! Thanks!_"

Tara let the other girl take the lead as they walked around the store, all the while calling out for Denise's brother. They accomplished nothing but garner the attention of the few adults browsing the aisles. After a full five minutes of searching, they were about ready to give up. Denise stopped at the Mythology isle and groaned impatiently, turning to Tara for suggestions. The blonde considered it, then proposed, "_he might be in the other store- uh, MoonDollars, was it_?"

Denise smacked her forehead, "_of course. I can't believe I didn't think of that_."

They ventured past the travel guides and through the 'humour' section until they arrived at the glass wall separating the two establishments. Straight away, Denise noticed her brother on the other side. She knocked fervently on the glass, "_Alex! Come out here now!_"

A gangly teenager with strawberry blonde hair and small hazel eyes stared up at them from a cushiony loveseat, where his nose was buried in a magazine. His clothes were arranged of grey pants and a black zippered jacket with a logo of a green lantern across the chest. "_What_," he mouthed irritably, dropping the magazine to his lap.

Denise placed a hand on her hip, "_I've been looking for you._"

He stood up and walked over to them, opening the door with his shoulder. "_I've been here for the past half hour_," he told her, "_go do whatever you want and leave me alone, 'kay munchkin_?" He nudged her leg with his foot, forcing her to take a few steps back.

She tensed and swatted him back, "_stop that! Alex, I'm bored! I want to go home!_"

"_We can't_," Alex told her, "_Mom's not home and I don't have the key!_"

"_Can I at least stay with you?_"

"_Whatever_," he shrugged, "_if the baby doesn't want to be left alone_."

"_I'm not a baby_," Denise growled.

He complied and put his hands out in defense, "_okay, okay. I have to buy a book anyway, come on, dweeb_." He tossed the magazine carelessly over in their direction and Tara caught it in her hands before it could hit Denise in the face. The other girl had her face scrunched up out of reflex, but as soon as Tara had the magazine in her hands, Denise opened one hazel eye and watched as Alex disappeared into the 'humour' section, leaving them with the rude farewell of a stuck-out tongue.

"_He's such a dork_."

Tara was confused, "_a_ _dork_?"

Denise shrugged, "_I dunno what it means in Romanian._" She crossed her arms together and turned her head back over to Tara, "_do you see what I have to put up with?_"

"_He's your brother?_" Tara asked; she was surprised to see a brother and sister treat each other with such animosity and shocked that it looked like it was a regular occurrence for them to act that way. She thought of her own brothers; although Gregor butted heads with his siblings and they all had some bad times, she could never imagine either boy being so callous with her to actually push her around and blow raspberries at her without feeling remorse afterwards.

"_According to my mom and dad_," the other blonde scoffed, "_but I'm pretty sure he's adopted._"

Tara raised an eyebrow, "_really_?"

Denise giggled, "_uh-no. I was just kidding_." Then, a look of realization crossed her face and she beamed unexpectedly, "_wow_."

"_What_," Tara questioned her new friend.

"_I'm usually really shy_,"Denise explained, suddenly hesitant and bashful once more, "_I don't know why but it's so easy to talk to you. Do you live near here? What school do you go to?_"

Tara opened her mouth to reply when Alex ran back towards them, "_hurry up, Denise, or you'll just end up lost again_!"

"_I'm coming,_" Denise called back to him and glanced at the runaway hopefully, "_well_?"

"I..." she inwardly panicked; she knew countries, capitals and cities, not streets, blocks and schools. "Not-_not really_," she bit her lip in the same nervous way Brion always did, "_I don't think so anyway, it takes...twenty minutes to get here by car. And...I'm home-schooled._"

Denise bought it, "_aw, that sucks..._"

"_DENISE_!"

"_Urgh, I need to go. It was nice meeting you; I'll see you later, okay_?"

Tara waved awkwardly, "_sure...bye_."

Denise disappeared into the bookcases, following her brother's path, "_bye!_"

Tara felt bad for lying to Denise, but she knew it was precautionary and that the chances of seeing the girl or her brother again were nil. The corners of the magazine that Alex had been reading were dog-eared and slightly wrinkled. Tara ran her fingers across the page, tracing the bold printed letters almost absent-mindedly. She let her eyes focus on the magazine; the black ink took form of a message that was clear and simple. "Heroes Day," it read, and behind said caption, there was a large photograph that took over the better part of the cover. It was of a woman, whose beauty seemed exotic and even unearthly, looking just beyond the lens. Her pearly whites glistened in the light, as did her dark and expressive irises. Her hands were posed on her hips; one fist was curled up around a wound-up golden lasso. The deep red on her top dulled beneath the bronze breast plate and the gold tiara on her forehead contrasted the darkness of her hair.

On the edge of the cover were smaller captions and pictures, with words like, "which stars wore it best?" underneath two different pictures, side by side, of two starlets wearing the same patterned dress. Then there was, "Brady Summers: cheating- AGAIN?" accompanied by a fuzzy picture of a man and a woman, so close together that their foreheads were touching. The final headline, underneath a photograph of a middle-aged man smiling at the camera, quoted, "complete recovery: 'I feel better than ever!'"

Tara spread the magazine in front of her, opening it directly in the middle. The double spread she turned to was vibrant yellow; on one page was a short biography and interview with a character named 'The Flash' who was a man dressed head to toe in red with little wing ornaments on his ears and a yellow lightning bolt on his chest. She was positively entranced, flipping through each page, practically absorbing every piece of information and taking in every small detail of the pictures documenting the different superheroes of the world. Some, like the aforementioned Justice Society or the Green Lantern corps, were clumped in groups while others were rarely seen in team-ups with other superheroes. All of them were photographed talking to the press and fans, caught mid-shot while fighting minor –or major- threats and there were even small exposes on relationships within teams. The rest that the magazine had to offer about superheroes were mainly about how they made appearances at the celebrations all across the world and a hefty description about the parades, floats and parties that civilians held in honour of their heroes.

She flipped to the next page, and her eyes bugged out, upon seeing the title.

"The Doom Patrol."

* * *

Tara adjusted the butterfly clip, so that it held her bangs in place without digging into her scalp. Taking a deep breath, she walked out into the streets of Markovsburg yet again. She was wearing a thin white open-buttoned vest over a long sleeved forest green shirt, and blue denim jeans that flared at the bottom that hung at her waist with help of a black belt. She had also bought a bigger camping backpack from the money she had brought with her, as well as an insulated sleeping bag and five complete outfits for variation.

She still did not know where she was heading but one thing was clear; she needed to get as far away from Markovia as possible. The trouble was, she was not sure she would get anywhere by walking alone. Hiking across the country would be wearisome and slow and would take weeks of non-stop trekking to even arrive at the border between Markovia and France. Her only other option, as Tara saw it, was using a boulder to fly her somewhere. She would not, under any circumstance, do that- or at least, that was what she told herself when she began to consider the option. Anyways, even if she did that, it would still take days if nothing went wrong, and if Tara faced it, something probably would.

She wished there was a faster way. She tapped her foot against the concrete and watched as a few cars drove by, as though they would inspire her with an idea. Her wish was granted when a monstrous vehicle, at least ten feet in the air, turned the corner and stropped by a group of people, towering over them menacingly. Its doors swished open and passengers began to exit the vehicle while the bystanders on the curb flashed cards and change at the driver as they climbed on. Tara's eyes widened; she had not been aware that such public transportation existed.

Something bumped into her, causing her to trip and stumble to the asphalt, giant bag and all. A young gentleman, possibly around his late twenties, stopped at once and quickly mumbled a heartfelt apology. He was dressed for business, in a prim suit and tie. The man quickly changed which hand was holding on to a leather suitcase and offered his hand to her. She took it and stood right back up, "I'm so sorry, miss. Are you okay?"

She straightened the straps of her bag and shrugged, "yes, its okay, you don't need to say sorry."

He looked guiltily at her, "I didn't mean to."

"It's okay," she pressed on, still looking over at where the big vehicle had been. A light bulb turned on in the deep corners of her mind, "um- actually, could you tell me what _that _thing was?"

"What thing?" His perplexed face followed her face to the spot, "oh, you mean...the bus?"

"The bus? That giant car...is a bus?"

"Yea," he nodded, "um- what-"

She interrupted him, "do any buses go out of the city, maybe even the border?"

"Uh, yea. There's a bus station a few blocks away," he gestured behind him, "but, why do you need one? Are you lost? Do you need any help? I-"

Before he could finish his sentence though, Tara shouted, "thank you," and started to run down the sidewalk. She barely heard his cries for her to stop, too excited with her new plan. It took her nearly a half hour, plus asking a few more befuddled passer-bys for directions, to arrive at the station. She opened the door and right away, she heard a loud voice speak from somewhere above her, "-_to Granstok has been delayed_-"

She saw the large electronic billboard with the departure and arrival times on it. Clear as day, the blinking lights told her that a bus to France was leaving in twenty minutes. Near the billboard was a row of three ticket selling booths; she ran over to the shortest line and waited for her turn. Unfortunately, when it was her time and she asked for a ticket for France, the gum-chewing elderly woman said, "I'm sorry, little girl; you need a parent or guardian with you to buy a ticket. Where are your mommy and daddy?"

The woman spoke in a sickly sweet baby voice, drawling out her words as if she considered Tara as some sort of idiot that wouldn't be able to understand her otherwise. Tara scanned her brains for a second, withstanding the urge to bite back with an insult, and finally came up with an idea, that if she played it just right, could fool the woman.

Tara granted her the sweetest smile she could muster and rose her voice a few octaves, "my mommy's in the bathroom," she said innocently and puffed up her chest, "but she said that I was a big girl and big girls can buy tickets!: She fluttered her eyelashes and added, "she gave me money and _everything_, and I really want to prove I can do it!" For the final touch, she sniffed, "but...it's okay," she hung her head, "I'll just tell her that you want her to buy the tickets and I couldn't do it. I'll go get her."

She turned around, hiding the mischievous smirk on her face, and started to shuffle away. In the same high voice as before, the woman called, "oh, okay sweetie, I'll give you your and your mommy's tickets, okay?"

Tara turned around and smiled, "thank you, nice lady, two tickets to France, please!"

The woman brought out two tickets for the bus and Tara plopped the appropriate change on the counter before grabbing the tickets and walking off into the crowd, thankful for her natural acting ability.

* * *

**A bunch of superheroes in this chapter, eh? There's even a small mention of Marvel characters without making it a cross-over...buahaha. **

**Not to mention, Tara meets her future sister-in-law! **

**Here's a thought: Superman versus Batman! I added that in as a reference to the debate my friends and I had in Religion class (ugh). If it's anything goes; I think that Bats would be able to beat Superman. He even gathered all of the Justice League members' weaknesses and how to beat them in case any of them ever went rogue or were somehow forced to turn evil and he needed to stop them. Supes may have all the powers but Batman's known for his intelligence and ingenuity. Oh, and yes, the 'Superman is super' argument was taken out of the argument from Religion class...and then she dissed the Bat-mobile. Psh.**


	10. Chapter Nine: Terra

_Disclaimer: Teen Titans has been around for almost 50 years, you tell me how a sixteen year old girl could possibly own them?! I still think this whole disclaimer thing is very stupid. Who would parade around a FAN-fiction website claiming to be the creator or current owner of a franchise-whether it be book, show, comic, movie, game or cartoon? Who in their right mind would believe them anyway? No one. This is very pointless. _

**Author's Note: To clear up some confusion, yes...Denise ends up marrying one of the Markov boys how-many years in the future. I'd tell you which one, but I don't want to spoil it as you'll find out later in the story...I guess you could always Google it and find out...but that would be no fun, now would it? :P**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to one of the biggest inspirations I have for this fanfiction; it's a video that I found on YouTube. It's a tribute to Terra to 'White Houses' by Vanessa Carlton. It's one of my favourite Teen Titans AMV's of all time and I recommend you all watch it if you haven't already.**

**And eight words: Beast Boy as a phoenix and dragon. BAMF!**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

Tara paced back and forth the small waiting area; her original excitement had withered down to utter boredom. Her eyes flickered from the big clock hanging on the wall ahead of her to the small cap she was restlessly playing with. She threw the cap in the air and watched it fall back to her awaiting palm in allegorical slow motion. Tara briefly wondered if the clock was broken as she watched as the minute hand twitched in such a way that she could not be certain it had moved at all. She tossed the bottle cap in a garbage can and gulped; she had drained the water bottle in two chugs and still felt dehydrated. She reached for some change and walked over to the vending machines (or that was what she had heard someone call it). She inserted two coins in the slot and pressed a random button. She heard a distinct clunk and then reached into the compartment at the bottom and grabbed the bottle.

"Iced tea," Tara read the label out loud before twisting the cap off and taking a sip. As she walked back to the seating area, she heard a shout. She craned her neck back but could not see anything except for the obvious fact that there was some sort of commotion in front of the ticket booth and that it was beginning to garner some curious glances.

Shrugging, Tara sat down beside an elderly man with an unfortunate sinus condition. She took off the giant backpack and, although it put up a struggle, leaned it against the seat next to hers. She brought the iced tea to her mouth and started gulping down the first few sips. As she drank, an announcement called passengers for Belgium and the man sitting on her right stood up and tumbled away, blowing his nose loudly with a tissue. She was about to take another sip when the arguing voices caught her attention again, this time heading in her direction.

A security guard was loudly arguing with a smaller figure, whose face was hidden behind the hood of their two-sizes-too-large sweater. The guard was saying, "sorry, miss, but there's no loitering in the station! If you don't buy a ticket, you can't board a bus."

The girl, her voice was too high to be male, countered heatedly, "I'm _not_ loitering or nothing like that," she took off her patched purple bag and hugged it to her chest, "I _got_ the money! It's in my bag and I just have to find it, _okay_?"

"Fine," the man said grudgingly, "but if you can't find it, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

The girl nodded and plopped down in the recently vacated seat next to Tara. Her thin fingers appeared from inside her long sleeves and the girl angrily zipped her bag open and began to rustle around her belongings. Her hood fell to the nape of her neck, revealing thick black hair that was strewn in a messy bun and pale skin that contrasted the dark bags underneath her eyes. . She was an adolescent, older than Gregor and the current expression on her pallid face only did to age her further. In addition to the large sweater, she was also wearing denim pants with noticeable grass stains and a small rip on the left knee. She was wearing light make-up, but the mascara was running and the concealer failed to hide the purple bruise forming on her cheekbone. Her muddy sneaker was tapping the floor in a fast-paced tempo, in sync with her hurried mutterings. She was growling under her breath, all in quick French. Tara didn't understand any of the words she used but the blonde was certain they were inappropriate.

Tara noticed that her eyes, which were as dark as her hair, were unfocused and hazy. She was clearly not paying any real attention to the contents of her bag. Tara watched her carelessly search for about a minute before she made herself known, "do you need any help?"

The girl stiffened and jerked her head up, "what," she asked, glaring at Tara with palpable irritation.

Tara was put off by the girl's harsh tone but repeated, "you look like you need some help."

Her dark eyes narrowed as she spat out, "I don't need your help!"

Tara stared and after a moment, surrendered, "okay then." She sat in silence, drinking what was left of her iced tea, but when she heard a sniff beside her, she looked at the girl again, "are you okay?"

"Sure," the girl replied through bared teeth, "now leave me alone, kid."

"There's no reason to be so rude," Tara said haughtily.

The girl stopped searching the bag, "listen, kid, why don't you just go find your parents?"

"I'm," Tara faltered, "here alone."

"Seriously," the brunette looked interestedly at Tara, seemingly unbelieving to this, "_you're_ here alone?"

"Yea."

She was cut off by the loudspeaker voice echoing through the building, "_-bus to Reims, France arriving in ten minutes; all passengers please report to the boarding area now._" At the end of the announcement, most of the people sitting stood up, carrying, or in some cases, dragging, their luggage along with them.

The girl trembled at this and with a defeated sigh; she closed the bag and buried her face in her sleeves. Tara frowned, "are you sure I can't help? The bus is arriving soon and you still haven't found your money."

"Yea, well," the girl mumbled, "that's because I don't have any money."

"Then why-"

"None of your business," the girl growled as she crossed her arms together, "just go, kid."

Despite the girl's behaviour, Tara found herself unable to move. She blinked at the brunette in complete wonderment and, without thinking about it, dug her free hand into the pocket of her vest. She felt the rough tip of a long piece of paper and, after an intake of breath; she grabbed the ticket and pulled it out of her pocket. The girl was obviously upset about not having a ticket but she was not positive if the stubborn girl would accept it. Tara took the chance and asked, "you want to go to France, right?"

The girl furrowed her eyebrows, "uh- yea, why?"

Tara pushed her extra ticket up to the girl's face, "here."

The dark-haired girl stared in disbelief; her hand reached out to take it before abruptly changing her mind and pulling away. "Why are you giving me your ticket," she asked with a glower, "I don't want your pity!"

"This isn't just sympathy," Tara explained, "I have an extra ticket and you need one...I was just going to throw it in the garbage anyways." Tara was surprised to hear her own voice so even considering the older girl made her feel slightly afraid. She set the ticket down on her armrest and stood up, "well?"

The girl gaped at her, "I don't-"

Tara sighed and swung her bag over her shoulder, "okay then." She turned on her heel and started walking towards the boarding area.

Suddenly, she heard the squeak of sneakers behind her; the tattered girl was running towards her, holding onto the ticket like a lifeline. Tara swore that an excited smile had graced the other girl's lips before she caught up. She hovered over Tara and said, "thanks, kid."

"Your welcome," Tara replied politely. She was, at first, unsure if she made the right decision, but as she watched the teenager, she decided that she did not regret her choice.

"My name's Christa, by the way. You?"

"Oh, my name's-"

They entered the crowd surrounding the behemoth-sized bus and Tara's voice was drowned out by the excited chatter. Christa regained her bold mannerisms as she walked up to the man up front and handed her ticket to him. After a nudge from another eager passenger, Tara followed and handed her ticket to him too. She let another employee grab her camp bag and threw it into the side of the bus, which had opened to reveal a large trunk full of luggage. Christa clambered onto the bus but Tara hesitated; the bus was much larger than the one she had seen on the street and, for a short second, Tara felt too fearful to enter. Apprehensively, she walked up the steps and ventured down the aisle until she reached the middle of the bus and slid into an empty window seat. Christa plopped down beside Tara after a doubtful glance at the older passengers and immediately placed the hood over her head and sunk into her seat.

They didn't speak for the next half hour; Tara was too intimidated by the battered girl to say anything of interest and Christa didn't seem all that eager to start a conversation. The other passengers were tourists, either from Markovia, France or somewhere farther away. Others were merely travellers with no patience for cars, the underground or planes, and so had chosen the intercity bus as their transportation of choice. Her cheek vibrated when the bus rambled and started its run, as it was currently pressed up against the glass window. Tara watched the cityscape zoom by; she acknowledged the familiar white building with a grimace and smiled softly when she recognized the street that the bistro bookstore was on. After another thirty minutes of silence, the rocking feeling that the bus provided became too much to bear. Tara's eyes began to sag and she welcomed sleep eagerly.

She dreamt of nothing, quite literally, the backdrop was the whiteness of an unused canvas. She was the only being around as far as she could tell, but she did not know _where _she was. She was wearing a complete fencing costume and was brandishing a thin pointed sword, swishing the foil in the face of an invisible competitor. She called out an array of battle cries as she continued to jab at nothing, unaware of the strangeness of the situation. The echoing of feet sounded and another person walked over to her; through the crisscrossed pattern of the fencing mask, she noticed Gregor's grim face. He was black and white, an inking of her brother with no colour to be seen on his visage.

"You lost," he growled; his voice was distorted, an echo of the real Gregor's

Tara didn't understand; she had no recollection of ever participating in any competition. "I tried my best," she found herself shrugging nonchalantly, much to her further confusion.

Gregor huffed, "well, that's not good enough! You're competing in another match! Come on!"

She took off her helmet and threw it at her brother's feet, "I don't want to!"

"I only have a Leu left; if you win, we'll all be rich," her brother retorted heatedly as he picked up the mask and pushed it back towards Tara.

"You can't make me," she whined and stomped her foot, which strangely ripped through the floor beneath her.

The sketch sized her up and ran over to the edge of the white and conjured up a door from nothing, "it's too late now!" He began to open the door but stopped before what was behind it could be revealed. A giant pencil came forward out of nowhere and Tara watched in horror as it erased her brother out of existence. He didn't acknowledge it, instead stating simply, "Je ne le crois pas, tu es-

"-es incroyable!"

The bus hit a pothole and Tara bounced in her seat. Her forehead slammed against the window, affectively waking her up. She reached for her temple, feeling for any sign of a bruise, and hissed an incoherent but very pained mutter under her breath. She looked around, as for a second she forgot where she was, then noticed that the voices were coming from a small television a few seats ahead of her. She then looked at Christa, who was watching it with slight interest.

"How long was I asleep," she asked.

Christa was surprised that Tara was awake, but quickly got over it and answered, "not sure. An hour, I guess? You missed most of the movie..."

"Sorry," Tara apologized with a sheepish smile, "was I supposed to watch?"

"Nah, it's just for something to do. I think the driver guy said we'd be getting off in an hour and a half."

"Okay," yawned Tara.

They sat in silence, until Christa tapped her armrest and glanced at Tara, "hey kid?"

"Uh-huh?" No need to correct her for calling her kid, Tara thought, that just might make her mad again.

"Why'd you give me that ticket? You don't know me and I wasn't exactly being Miss. Congeniality. So, why?"

"I told you," Tara said simply, "you seemed upset and I wanted to help. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Well," Christa sighed, "no one's ever just helped me before...just for the sake of it."

"Really? That's horrible!"

"I've learnt to deal," Christa shrugged, "or I thought I did." She realised what she said and quickly changed the subject, "my life was going pretty sucky until you came along...so thanks...again."

"You're welcome?"

"No prob. So, what about you? You look pretty young to be going places by yourself."

"I ran away," Tara whispered, "but I had to. It was for the best..."

"That sucks, kid."

"What about you?"

"Rather not talk about it."

Tara nodded understandingly and turned to the movie instead, they were playing something in French, which Tara had never pretended to be good at. She understood some of the words that the two on the screen were arguing about but not enough to understand the plotline. She was much more interested in the plights of the girl sitting beside her, and wondered aloud, "what are you going to do in France?"

She didn't expect a reply, or a vague one at best, so she was surprised when Christa replied, "gonna find my Grandma. She's the only sane person in my family as far as I'm concerned and I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"That's really sad," Tara commented sadly. She gazed at the bruise plaguing Christa's cheek but even she, the impolite ruffian, the black sheep of the house of Markov, knew it would be too crass to ask.

"Life's really sad, kid."

Tara had to agree.

The time passed and neither girl made another attempt at a conversation. When the bus driver announced that they had arrived at their destination, Tara followed the rest of the passengers out of the bus and into the bus station. She and Christa, who had silently agreed to stick together for the time being, walked out together into the street after Tara had picked up her backpack.

"My Gran lives near _rue Maurice Prévoteau_; I think I should be able to walk from here..."

"That's good," nodded Tara.

"Do you know where you're going," Christa asked, and for the first time, Tara thought the other girl sounded concerned, "you could...come along if you want...I mean, I don't think it's a good idea for a little kid to be by herself."

Tara was touched by the invitation and she was aware that the worry was without reason but something held her back from agreeing. She shook her head in refusal; she was still too close to Markovia for her liking. Christa looked slightly disappointed at this and opened her mouth, most likely to attempt to convince Tara to reconsider her offer, when a shrill scream pierced the street. "What was that?" she asked.

Tara shrugged just as more screams sounded; a group of people were running towards them in alarm. The terrified citizens galloped past them, some nearly knocking into the two girls; their screams blending into one loud screech. Christa tried to catch their attention and after a few failed attempts, she managed to stop one man and ask, in her native tongue, what was happening to make everyone panic.

"Un monstre! Sauve qui peut!"

The fear was evident in the man's voice as he fled. Tara looked up at Christa and gulped, "please tell me he didn't say what I think he said."

Christa slowly shook her head before flapping her long sleeve, pointing at something just ahead, "oh crap." Tara looked up, just in time to see something orange literally step on a long line of parked cars. It was indeed a monster, taken directly out of the pages of a novel of myths and legends. It stood, only on par with the tall buildings, twenty feet away. Half its body was hidden behind the structures built around that area but even from there, Tara could tell its skin was lumpy and coarse, with a long pointy tail with spikes running down its back. The ground shook as it took another few steps and it roared with such fury that Tara instinctively grabbed on to Christa's sleeve to avoid falling back.

The monster turned and bared its awful fangs at them. It grabbed a telephone pole, piercing the wood with its claws, and began to shake it out of its socket. The cords snapped and the monster lifted the pole up to its face before taking a huge chomp out of the center, breaking the pole clean in half. It found the wood disagreeable because it immediately spat the wood right back out and tossed the pole away with much force. It went flying across the sky, on a collision course with the ground just a few feet ahead of Tara, where people were still running, having jumped out of their vehicles and stormed out of the buildings. Tara gasped, and everything felt like it was going slow motion.

The screaming became deafening and she could see each frightened face with blurred detail. Her heart pounded in beat with the commotion, her breathing became shallow, and she started to feel a strange sensation building down her arms. She felt something touch her, and half-heard a girl's voice cry out, "kid! KID, COME ON! WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!" She didn't listen.

She had to do something; something inside her knew she had to save these people. She had promised herself that she would not, under any circumstances, use her powers again but if she could help, shouldn't she? '_I'll just make everything worse_,' she thought desperately, '_I can't!_' Dr. Jace's voice echoed in her mind, she was supposed to be a protector...help others... she recalled what the magazine had said about heroes. They put themselves in danger everyday at the risk of their own lives. They fought for safety and justice, to show that the world was not as corrupted as some would say.

The shrill sound of honking pounded against her ears and she shook off the hand pulling her away. She could see the faces of her family then that of the villains who had given her her abilities clear in her mind. She felt a sudden burst of energy and she started running forward. She heard the loud whooshing sound as the giant wooden pole came to its destination, about to crash into a man running with two children at his sides, when everything stopped completely.

"NO!"

A yellow tint obscured her sight, but she did not care. She lifted her arms and gripped the air, stopping the log in its tracks. The man looked in awe at the still pole, but did not question the miracle. Instead, he grabbed his youngest child in his arm and ran alongside the other, away from immediate harm. The crowd seemed to stop, everyone either gazing at the floating pole or her, the small girl with white-less yellow eyes and glowing palms. She saw it before she heard it; the behemoth let out another roar and threw one of its thick arms in the air. It seemed rattled by the fact that its toy had somehow defied the laws of gravity, and it blundered closer, nearly toppling a few buildings as it did.

The geomancer directed the precise movement with her arms; the pole rose above the highest building, flipped around and flew back at the monster, slamming into it, like a javelin, through its chest. It fell back and toppled on the asphalt. There was an unpleasant crack as it compacted two stranded cars and after a hushed silence in the crowd, it was indeed dead. The dispersed people broke into a cheer and soon, they were hugging and laughing in relief.

The geomancer stood in the aftermath of the fight, with new thoughts and sentiments clearing her clouded mind.

"What did you say your name was again?"

The geomancer glanced over at the other girl- whose wide eyes were staring at her with a mixture of shock and awe. She was crouched down on the ground, obviously as some sort of reflex from the scene that had just occurred. The geomancer tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and grinned at her older companion.

And with that, Tara was gone. Tara Markov, princess of Markovia, was merely a memory, a set-back and a stranger. A new person came forth, so simply yet so familiar. There was hardly a difference, but with the revelation, it was also utterly necessary. Her mouth parted and with a subtle change in her voice, the geomancer introduced herself anew.

"My name's Terra, and don't you forget it."

**YAY! It's the end of another chapter and technically, if you count the prologue, this was my tenth chapter! Woo! I'm so proud. Virtual cookies all around!**

**[1] I realise that you would most likely need a passport plus some forms to leave the country- but I'm in no mood to be logical. Or apparently, mature, because as a rebuttal to this, I'm sticking my tongue out and saying that it was all the ticket woman's fault and that she gets fired a month after she sells Ta- I mean, Terra the tickets.**

**[2] Tara Markov is officially Terra now. From now on, that's how she's referenced. I'll be out-front and say that this is the last chapter in my story that she will ever refer _herself_ as Tara. Ever.**

**[3] When was the last time anyone saw the cliché monster-attacking-city plot? This is a homage to that because I miss it lol**

**Oh, guys, I have a small announcement. In addition to this story, I'm planning two intermission chapters from Brion's perspective, telling what happened to him, Gregor and the rest of Markovia when Terra wasn't around. Terra will find out some things later on in the road, but I think this way, the readers will know everything. I also am thinking of doing an alternate ending now that I've got a definite ending planned; I think some of you might prefer the alternate, depending on what you think would happen to Terra after 'Things Change'. **

**The first intermission can be expected in the twelfth chapter.**

**Next chapter will continue the journey. Next stop...jolly ole' England, my duckies! Plus more! **


	11. Chapter Ten: Global Guardians

_Disclaimer: I don't own Terra or the Teen Titans. They belong to various creators from DC Comics and Warner Brothers. Terra was originally created in 1982 by __**THE**__ Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Her animated version was created by Glen Murakami, David Slack and their amazing team. I'm obviously not one of them or any of the other writers and artists who worked canonically on the Teen Titans. So __**dar**__._

**Author's Note: Yes, I'm still alive and I haven't given up on this story. See, there was this problem on my computer and although I managed to fix the issue, all of my personal files disappeared- that means all of my pictures and stories. All of my mom's stuff was left intact but all of my stuff vanished. Yea, welcome to my life. I thought I would have this up last week, but I got infected with 'real life syndrome'. I promise regular updates though, and a surprise at the end of the summer for readers interested in the histories of the five main Titans.**

**My friend has this book with oddly specific pop culture lists. There was one about superheroes with messed up adolescences. In fifth place, the one and only: TERRA. There were a few other Titans on the list too...lol. Oh, and recently, I saw an episode of Batman: Brave and the Bold- and guess who was there? BRION! I never imagined him with such a strong accent. I obviously knew he would have an accent, but dude, that was one _strong_ accent!**

**In other news, TEEN TITANS is getting a new writer: JT Krul! *does little dance* Now if only I knew what was going to happen to Gar and Raven...if they're put back in limbo, I won't be happy.**

**Anyways, 'incredibly difficult chapter that took me months to write' AHOY! **

* * *

It took nearly half an hour for the proper authorities to arrive at the scene. Terra and Christa managed to escape the enthusiastic crowd when they turned their attention from the new heroine to watch the officers restrain the deceased creature. The last thing that Terra saw of the scene was a man coming forward and spraying the monster with the contents of a bottle. Terra later found out that the monster had been an experiment from a nearby lab that had escaped from captivity after being accidentally doused with growth serum. The sprits from the bottle were an antidote and successfully shrunk the monster to its original height.

Christa led the way through the deserted streets but due to an unfocused mind, it took her a little longer than it should have to find her way to her grandmother's apartment building. She would stop at every intersection to re-enact the entire event. She even added sound effects and hand movements to her performance.

"Then you were like 'yar!'" Christa sliced the air with her hidden fist, "how come you didn't tell me you could do that," she paused and scrunched up her nose, "Terra, was it?"

"Yep. Terra," the blonde nodded slowly. She hesitated in her response; it felt wrong to explain the story of Tara Markov but it would be just as bad, if not worse, to lie to her new friend. Holding caution on her side, she said, "it just didn't come up."

Christa looked disappointed by Terra's reply but instead of trying to push a more specific answer out of her, she opted to change the subject all together. "I think I see it." She pointed ahead at a looming grey building, "that is definitely it!" The older girl broke into a run and bounded up the front steps, "she lives on the fifth floor!"

Terra followed her into the small vestibule, where Christa was already scanning a list of names. She rolled up her right sleeve, just enough for her finger to press the small button beside the name 'M. Beauchamp'. The two girls waited with baited breath as a loud buzzing filled the space.

A soft voice rung through the speaker, "qui est-ce?"

"Mémé? C'est moi, Christine!"

Terra heard the speaker gasp audibly and the line hummed a second time. At this, Christa jumped over to the next door and swung it open, urging Terra along. They walked down the lobby to where the elevators were situated. Christa's foot tapped the floor impatiently as she pressed the up button multiple times.

When the elevator doors finally opened themselves, the two girls piled into the small compartment. Christa reached over and pressed the fifth button on the panel. They remained silent on the way up, and somewhere between the second and third floor, Christa's eyes glazed over and she paled to a ghostly shade. Terra was unsure what happened and she questioned this when the doors dinged and she walked out alone. "We're here! Aren't...Christa? What's wrong?"

Christa was standing in a corner, hood up, and clutching her stomach as though she was about to hurl. "I-I can't do this," she stuttered, "let's just go."

"Go?" Terra repeated, "but isn't this what you wanted? You wanted to see your grandmother, didn't you?"

"Yea, I did..." Christa's knees began to shake, "but what if I was wrong? What if my grandmother doesn't want me or-or," under the shadow of her hood, her lip trembled, "I just haven't had the best luck with family, okay?"

"You won't know unless you try," Terra said, "she let us in, that's a good sign, right?"

The elevator door started to move but before it could completely close, a scruffy shoe blocked the door. The sensor beeped and the elevator opened; Christa took a few tentative steps forward, "I suppose I can try."

They walked down the hallway together and at Christa's motioning, they stopped in front of Apartment 509. She lifted up her right sleeve and tapped the door with her knuckles, "Mémére?"

A wrinkly old woman appeared at the door and when she saw Christa, she and her grand-daughter immediately embraced and started to talk animatedly with each other. Terra watched as Christa's hood fell to the nape of her neck and tears rolled down their faces as they sobbed in each other's arms. It was a beautiful scene but something was also amiss. She realized with a jolt what it was; they needed privacy. _She_ was intruding on the family reunion; _she_ did not belong here. Terra had already begun taking steps back when Christa's grandmother pointed at her curiously.

Christa beamed and started explaining something to the elderly woman. The only words that Terra understood were, "just like me...run away from home too..." The brunette was turned to her and asked, "are you sure you can't stay?"

"I don't think it's a good idea," Terra shook her head softly.

"Please?" the girl pleaded, "look, I know what it's like out there. It's tough and I'd blame myself if anything happened to you. You've done so much for me, like, you have no idea."

"I shouldn't," Terra said half-heartedly.

"Then just stay for the night," Christa turned her grandmother and asked her something, "My grandmother says that there's room for you."

The apartment did look inviting and her stomach started to rumble at the thought of a full meal. "I-Oh, fine." Terra conceded much to the other girl's contentment. She let herself be ushered inside where Mrs. Beauchamp offered her something to eat in broken Romanian. Terra's stomach gurgled louder and she quickly accepted. When the elderly woman set down the meal, Terra ate with such fervour that was very inappropriate for a lady. The only person who could have eaten more than her at that moment was Gregor.

Afterwards, Christa and Terra helped the former's grandmother set everything up for that night. They would sleep in the guest room; Christa would sleep on the bed but she had lowered a mattress down for Terra. Neither girl had pyjamas but they solved that problem fairly quickly; Christa borrowed something from her grandmother while the much smaller Terra wore one of the clean outfits she had bought.

After a quick shower, Terra walked into the guest room to see that Christa had already fallen asleep. Terra laid down on the mattress and turned over, closing her eyes and clearing her thoughts. A minute passed before she opened her eyes and flipped to the other direction, then on her tummy and then rolling on her back. She found the self-made bed was a complete turnover from her usual accommodations. The mattress was too lumpy and her back was pressed against a faulty spring. The pillow was thin and stiff, so unlike her feathered goose down pillows back at the castle. She found the blanket was causing her skin to itch, and her hand, which usually dangled from her high rise bed, uncomfortably twisted on the cold floor. She turned her attention to the ceiling and recalled an old trick her mother had taught her: imagining sheep jumping over a fence.

"One...two...three..."

The next day, she left the apartment. She packed up her belongings, bade a quick farewell to the Beauchamps and headed on the road once more. She was uncertain where she was heading but the farther she got from Markovia, the better. She told Christa that she would return if she ever wanted to but was only partly aware of the emptiness of that promise; she knew deep down that she would probably never see any of the Beauchamps again.

* * *

Since the moment she stepped foot back on the streets, she had a strange feeling she was being watched, something that was proven that very afternoon. When hunger had possessed her again, she had entered a nearby diner and ordered a meal of her choice. While practically swallowing down the small lunch, she felt someone's eyes on her. Sitting a table over, were three women and a man and albeit discreetly, they were all looking directly at her. She was surprised that she was only noticing them now for they were all dressed in the oddest outfits.

The man, dressed in a green renaissance turtleneck tunic, raised the tip of his brown feathered hat in acknowledgement and whispered something to the woman beside him. She looked the most normal of the quartet, with black hair styled in a layered bob cut, framing her angular face and prominent cheekbones. She was dressed in a simple business suit and her eyes were hidden behind red sunglasses. The scowl on her face intensified as she called over a waiter for the tab.

The other two women stood up and surprisingly, walked over to Tara's table. One was petite, had white hair down to her chin and was wearing a maroon spandex suit with thick red gloves and boots. The collar of her suit was also red, as was her belt and the carriers attached to her legs. The other woman was much taller, almost reaching six feet. Her icy grey eyes blinked from beneath a cobra-style hat that fell down to her ankles, sending a chill down Terra's spine. She was wearing a V-cut brown spandex suit that covered her hands and feet, but revealed her bare shoulders.

The white haired woman leaned down, blocking Tara's view of the other table, and whispered in French. It took a second to decipher what she said, but Tara understood it as, "_pretend nothing's wrong. We need to speak with you._"

Tara gulped and silently weighed her options; there was a gun sticking out of the woman's holster and the cobra woman's gaze hardened as she took a seat, as though trying to will Terra to look at her.

"_Don't be scared, we won't hurt you if you cooperate_," the woman continued as she slid down on the seat across from Terra. "_My name is Fleur. Fleur-de-lis._"

The other woman spoke in a sultry tone, "_and I'm Crimson Fox_."

"_Terra_," she stumbled over her words, "_I'm sorry, I'm not very good with French_."

"Ah, I see," Fleur-de-lis apologized, now in English, but with a noticeable accent, "do you know English?"

"Yea," Terra replied quietly.

"We are members of a government organization called the Global Guardians. We wanted to talk about what happened yesterday afternoon." Terra's heart might as well have stopped beating at that moment; Fleur-de-lis spread a few papers on the table and Terra immediately recognized the low-quality pictures from her battle with the monster. The rest were documents from somewhere called STAR Labs. "You stopped an experiment from the French sector of STAR Labs."

"You're a geomancer, oui?" Terra shuddered and hesitated in responding. Panic was chewing on her insides as she considered the millions of possibilities of why they wanted to talk about this. Crimson Fox clicked her tongue, "well?"

"Yea, I am..." Terra squeaked.

Perfect teeth glinted in the sun, and Terra felt something beyond simple fear. She was petrified in her seat. She did not understand what was happening until Fleur-de-lis hissed at her companion, "Crimson, do you mind? I'm getting a full blow and it's hard to concentrate." The cobra woman pursed her lips but nodded nonetheless. Straightaway, the feeling of terror diminished almost completely. Fleur-de-lis explained, "Crimson Fox is a pheromone manipulator. Long story short, she can make men fall in love with her and make women fear her."

"Do you have powers too?"

Fleur-de-lis answered, "my strength and speed have been super-enhanced by the French government but my true ability comes from my weapons." She patted her holster, "being athletic only gets you so far."

They were interrupted by the man and woman coming to the table. The scowling woman asked, "have you explained everything to her yet?"

"Not yet. I was getting to it, Belphegor."

Belphegor scoffed, "I knew I shouldn't have let you handle this. There's a reason you're still under probation, Fleur."

"This has nothing to do with that," Fleur-de-lis said defensively, "not that it's any of your business, anyhow."

"It _is_ my business when one of my operatives decides to get into a relationship with an enemy assassin," Belphegor retorted, "and nearly undermines the entire organization as a result! Deathstroke is a dangerous villain, something you should have realized before having that little _tryst_ with him."

"Excuse-moi ladies," the man said tiredly, "but perhaps it would be better to cut to the point, no?"

Fleur-de-lis was about to say something when she sighed, "sorry Musketeer, you're right." She collected the pictures and documents from the table and turned her attention back to Terra, "our organization is solely responsible for the safety and protection of the entire country as there are very few known Meta-humans living here. As such, we keep tabs on all Metas in the area, to make certain that they are using their powers correctly. We just wanted to tell you this and that if you have any questions, you can contact us at any time." At that, Crimson Fox conjured a business card and handed it to Terra. "Besides that, you don't have to worry about our presence. We will only take action if we find out that you have been misusing your powers. I hope that won't be a problem with you."

"No, Miss," Terra assured her. While no longer under Crimson Fox's thrall, she was still frightened of these people.

"Perhaps you might even become a member when you're older," Musketeer twirled his moustache with his forefinger, "but until then, we shall hopefully not be seeing you."

Belphegor straightened her sunglasses and reached out to grab Musketeer and Crimson Fox's shoulders. "I believe that is all," she said, "good day, Terra." Crimson Fox, in turn, gripped Fleur-de-lis' arm with her long manicured fingers and shot Terra one last glare before all four of them vanished.

It was as if it had all been a figment of Terra's own imagination. No one in the diner made any motions that they even noticed what just happened. Overwhelmed by it all, Terra threw the business card into her bag without bothering to give it a second glance and left some money on the table before running out into the streets.

* * *

During the first few weeks, her schedule became periodic and random for the most part. She knew better than sleeping at night so she would always pick either hidden or public places to nap for a little while before continuing. Nothing of particular interest occurred during that time; in fact, at times it was painfully boring. The only thing that kept her sane during the long days was her thoughts. She took to people watching, there were days were she would just sit on a mall bench and watch shoppers pass by. Oftentimes though, she would get lost in her imagination.

After that, weeks turned into months. Terra became more fluent in French and slowly, her daily schedule became more systematic. She stayed around the area for the most part, but in the last few weeks, she found herself travelling north- towards Paris. Terra practiced her geokinesis but although she was getting better, she still had trouble.

When not thinking about Markovia, she would imagine being a hero. She especially thought about the Doom Patrol. One of the first few things she had done was find somewhere that sold magazines and purchased the issue she had skimmed over in Markovia. Although there were many superheroes all around the world, it was the Doom Patrol who fascinated her the most, most likely due to their shared past. They were one of the most famed superhero teams on Earth, according to the articles, but also the most unapproachable by fans. They were commonly referred to as 'freak-shows' by their critics but the fact that they continuingly saved innocents put them into good graces with the public.

There had been five members, then four, then five again. Just before the fifth and youngest member had joined, the Doom Patrol had faced tragedy when their leader, the enigmatic wheelchair-ridden man only known as the 'Chief', was killed in a freakish, unexplained explosion. Tara wondered whether the Brotherhood of Evil had been involved. It was horrible to imagine but she could clearly see General Immortus' frail mouth curl into a sneer as he watched a building crumble with someone still inside.

The current leader was codenamed Mento and the few pictures that had been snapped of him painted him as someone with a serious demeanour. The source of all of his power came from a purple helmet which gave him telepathic and telekinetic abilities. In Terra's honest opinion, the helmet made him look outlandishly silly what with the two small antennae and the eye mask. Then again, there were funnier looking costumes out there. Usually at his side was the superheroine known as Elasti-girl. It was public knowledge that she and Mento had been a couple for some time, and they had recently married with guests ranging from Superman to Flash, and covered by Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. Elasti-girl, contrary to her name, did not have the power to stretch her limbs like 'Stretch' from the Zeta Metas. Instead, she had the ability to shrink and grow at command. She was beautiful, if not knowing she was a superhero, Terra would have assumed that she was an actress or model.

There was something creepy about the third member who was aptly named 'Negative Man'. His entire body was hidden beneath rolls of bandages that gave him the appearance of a mummy. He could release an astral projection of himself that had an array of abilities itself. He was the most mysterious of the team; his only interaction with the media was chockfull of sarcasm and cynicism, if he even took part of the interviews at all. Terra shivered; she hoped she never would meet anyone like him. She doubted that they would get along. The fourth member was a large, bronze robot, known to the public as 'Robotman'. He had the brain of a human, as explained to people who questioned the ethics of having a robot as part of the team. He was the strongman of the misfit team and he obviously took that position very seriously; every candid picture of him involved him smashing an opponent straight to the ground or lifting some heavy item in the air before throwing it at a villain.

The fifth member had joined the team around the time she was seven years old, and if she had to guess, he had been that age too. At least Immortus and Jace hadn't lied about there being superheroes her age; Beast Boy was proof of that. He was small and like Mento, most of his face was covered by a goofy-looking mask. What could be seen of his face though, showed that the boy was not of natural colouring- instead, his skin was green. After seeing the likes of Violet and Negative Man, she wasn't so surprised that there was a hero with green skin. Despite not knowing him, she found herself inspired by the changeling (true to his name, his power was to morph into different creatures). If he could save the day so many times as part of this team, she could easily become a hero in her own right too, right?

She wanted to use her powers for good, but fate seemed to have other plans for her. The first time had been when she had seen smoke coming from a suburban neighbourhood. She had tried to use her powers to calm the flames lighting the house, using dirt from the front yard to remove the oxygen needed for the fire to burn. It had ended in disaster, for her powers created a small earthquake that almost brought down the weakened foundation of the house. People had seen her but all were too afraid to stop her from running as firefighters arrived at the scene. She watched from a distance as they managed to rescue the people still inside the house, knowing she was almost responsible for their deaths. That was not the only occurrence of this. Many times, Terra tried to help others through her powers, and almost always did she only make things worse. An earthquake, an avalanche, a mud slide and another earthquake.

This was why, just days after her tenth birthday, she woke up, not underneath the shady tree she had been napping underneath but a wooden chair. Her eyes took a minute to focus to her surroundings. She was in a small room made entirely out of metal. There were no windows, but there was a black glass square in the wall across from her, as well as a small door beside it. She looked down at the table in front of her and tried to remember how she got here.

The door swung open, and a familiar brunette woman walked inside. "You," Terra gasped, "you're that woman from the Global Guardians!"

Belphegor took a seat across from Terra, "so, you remember me." It was a statement, not a question. "Then you should know exactly why you're here! We told you that we'd be watching you, that we would be acting accordingly if you misused your powers!" Terra watched with widened eyes as Belphegor slammed the table with the palm of her hand. A bundle of photographs spread across the table, as the bespectacled Global Guardian spat out, "a dozen lives put in peril! Buildings totalled! Wildlife harmed! Everything you _touched_ could have been destroyed!"

Terra flinched, "I-I'm sorry!"

"Sorry? Do you see this as a game, kid? People got hurt because of you! Do you think a simple sorry is enough!" Tears started to fall down Terra's eyes but Belphegor did not seem to care, "WELL?"

"I JUST WANTED TO HELP!" Terra wailed, breaking into sobs. She covered her face with her hands, suddenly fully aware of everything that happened. All the bad memories played over and over; all those people, hurt because of her.

"Give her a break, Belphegor," another familiar voice said, "she's just a kid."

Belphegor scoffed, "no Fleur, you're a kid! This child is-is a baby! She shouldn't even have these powers, let alone be using them! Do you need to be reminded about what she's done!"

Terra heard footsteps and then a hand on her shoulder. Fleur-de-lis' voice came from just above her ear, "Terra, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Terra shook her head, "you-you can."

"I think she wants you to leave, Belphegor," Fleur-de-lis said coolly, "I'll speak to her alone."

"Fine," came Belphegor's enraged response, "but, mark my words, after I talk to Doctor Mist, I will make sure that you are out of the Global Guardians for good!"

"You do that."

Terra peeked just in time to see Belphegor stomp out of the room. Fleur-de-lis sat down in the recently vacated seat, "don't worry about her. Surprisingly, her bark is much worse than her bite."

"But Fleur," began Terra.

"Please," the woman insisted, "call me Noelle. That's my real name."

"Okay...Noelle...won't she be able to-"

"I doubt it," Noelle hand-waved the worry away, "even if she does, I could always return to Département Gamma, or perhaps take the opportunity to become freelance. This isn't about me though, it's about you."

"I'm really, really sorry about everything! I just wanted to help! I didn't mean anything by it, I swear!"

"I know you didn't, Terra. I understand perfectly what happened and I know you had the right intentions in mind." She paused for a moment, before saying, "Terra, GG ops have noticed that you...live alone...on the streets." Terra opened her mouth but Noelle cut her off, "don't worry, I won't pry. I just wanted to ask how you would feel about us finding you a more stable home?"

"What do you mean?"

"We could find you a foster family to live with, if you want."

"Really?" Terra wiped away the remaining salt water drops from her face and grinned excitedly at the older woman. She could not believe this; no more hiding, she would have a home again, she would-

"Provided that you stop using your powers."

"Wait, what?"

"The Global Guardians have come to two possible solutions for your kind of case. You will not be allowed to use your powers or, if that's not possible, you will not be able to continue living in France."

"You-you don't understand! I can't stop using my powers! I can't!" She stood up, and her table fell back, hitting the ground with a small crash.

"I understand," Noelle said, "that it's a difficult decision but-"

"No, you don't! I can't control it, Noelle! Half of those times," she pointed at the pictures, "were complete accidents and the other half were when I just lost control half way through! It's not that I won't stop using them, it's that I just can't!" If to prove it, her hair flew up and her eyes turned bright yellow. Terra covered her face and started to shriek much to the shock of Noelle.

"Terra! Calm down!" She felt something grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands down; through her tinted vision, she saw Noelle inject her with a needle. Straightaway, all the overwhelming emotions turned into pure serenity. Her mind felt numb and her body worse. She collapsed on the floor, barely feeling the cold sensation on her skin, and through half-open eyes she saw Noelle crouching over her, "then I'm sorry, Terra, but there's only one other option."

* * *

Terra walked across the beach, straining under the weight of her bag. The Global Guardians had forced her out of an entire country as they had promised. She had been living in the United Kingdom for just over a month now, something that she had always wished of doing since she had her first English tutor. Due to the circumstances, however, she would rather be anywhere but there. She avoided people like the plague and would use her powers willingly only to practice in deserted areas.

She was just east of York, at the edge of Great Britain , and currently admiring the Atlantic Ocean. The sun was rising, so there would hopefully be no people around. Terra was testing how long she could keep a small rock up in the air while she walked when she saw it. She wondered how she had not seen it earlier. While not large for a plane (in fact, it was quite small by comparison), it was definitely an eye-sore in the vacant beach.

She admired the jet's pristine design, stalling at the logo on the tail of the jet. The bold blue letters 'T.E' were encircled by a thick green border. She walked closer to it, wondering who it belonged to and why it was here in the first place. It looked like it had crash landed into the harbour; the sand showed its trail from the sea to the beach.

A boy suddenly shouted, "Hey! What are you doing by our jet?"

She flipped around to see where the voice had come from, but besides a few seagulls, there was no one in sight.

"Who said that?" she cried out, scanning the area more closely.

"Up here," a girl's voice chirped just over Terra's head. She looked up and saw the silhouette of a figure; it looked human but there were two long wings fluttering behind it. The person flew slowly to the ground, revealing herself to be a girl about Terra's age, if not a year older. She had auburn hair that ended at her shoulders with the edges spiking out horizontally. She was wearing a maroon outfit; a tank top with a white collar, a flared skirt that stopped below her thighs, white socks and red shoes. Covering her wrist and part of her arm was a metallic bracelet that was flashing blue.

"Who are you?" Terra asked, staring in awe at the girl's wings.

"We could ask you the same question," the boy's voice replied, coming from the girl's direction. There was no one else around them, leading Terra to wonder whether this boy was invisible.

"I'm Terra," she introduced herself cautiously, "uh, who said that?"

"I did!"

The girl giggled and lifted up her wrist, "I think you're freaking her out, PJ." She waved at Terra and said, "my name's Redwing," she then pointed to her bracelet, "and this is my brother Prestor Jon."

* * *

**MUAHAHA! TENTH CHAPTER! MORE VIRTUAL COOKIES!**

**[1]When there's trouble, you know who to call! TEAM TITANS! **

**The Team Titans were **_**apparently**_** a group of freedom fighters from the future but after their leader gave them the mission of going back in time to present day of the 'New Titans', they learnt that they were actually sleeper agents for the villain Extant and were then erased from the timeline- well, most of them. The members of this team were: Battalion, Kilowatt, Mirage, Redwing, Prestor Jon, Dagon, Night(Death)wing and…TERRA! Wait, how does that work? Wasn't Terra dead? Well, it's a long story that I will not explain. Go to the Titans Tower website and read all about the strange identity crisis of Terra II there. **

**The only Teamers who did not vanish into non-existence were Mirage (RobxStar lovers, you _won't _love her), Deathwing (_I don't think he's Dick Grayson_) and Terra II! Mirage quit the superhero biz after she became pregnant with Deathwing's kid (coming back for a brief stint on Gar's team), Deathwing disappeared after the Trigon seed was expunged and Terra II...well...she got killed by Black Adam during WWIII.**

**Will the other Teamers make appearances? Kilowatt won't since in TTG! he was in a different dimension until Raven recruited him for season five. I don't think Battalion will make an appearance but Dagon's definitely going to show up and...I _really_ want Mirage to show up since she and Terra II were best friends.**

**[2] Elasti-girl aka Rita Farr was a movie actress before getting her powers.**

**[3] I searched and searched for _DC_ heroes from France and finally found a few from the Global Guardians, which is a team of international heroes. Heh, did you know Red Star was kinda on that team for a bit?**

**[4] Yes, by Deathstroke, I do mean Slade. Noelle Avril and Slade Wilson were revealed in the _Deathstroke_ ongoing comic books to have a romantic history. So, I thought, I should add this in for laughs.**


	12. Chapter Eleven: The Supernatural

_Disclaimer: I think you'd know if I owned the Titans. I would have punctured an eardrum or two while screaming out, "I OWN THE TEEN TITANS! WOO!" Sadly, that's not the case._

**Author's Note: More Team Titans coming up...except they aren't the Team Titans. Never mind, get on with it. **

***shuffles away***

**

* * *

**

"Brother?" repeated Terra sceptically, "but it's not a person."

"I may just be an accessory but I still got _feelings_," Prestor Jon's voice rung in tune with Redwing's flickering bracelet.

"Sorry?" Terra apologized lamely. Her common sense was telling her that this was probably a trick, the voice actually belonging to a communicator, but in a world with men who were faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive; she supposed that a living bracelet was not completely out of question.

"No worries," Redwing said, "he gets that a lot. It doesn't bother him as much as it used to."

"Yea, it makes for an excellent conversation starter," Prestor Jon added playfully, "and an even better prank!"

Redwing rolled her eyes, "which has gotten us in trouble more times than I can count."

"At least I'm not part chicken," Prestor Jon teased, much to his sister's indignation.

Before Terra could stop herself, she blurted out, "what exactly _is_ the deal with you two?"

Redwing was surprised by the bluntness of the question, not that Terra blamed her. She had the sudden imagery of her nanny chastising her for not acting more politely, but not wanting to be reminded of her past life; Terra quickly pushed the thought out of her mind.

The bird hybrid pushed a lock of flyaway hair back, revealing a long and pointy ear. "Well, it's kind of a long story."

"I understand," Terra said quickly, "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's okay," Redwing said, "it's not a secret or anything. I was just surprised...although I guess I'd probably be more surprised if you didn't ask at all."

Prestor Jon piped up, "tell you what, Terra. Let's make this into a game! I ask you two questions and then you ask us two questions and we have to answer them, no matter what they are! Deal?" Terra hesitated but agreed nonetheless. "I'll go first! What are you doing here at five in the morning? And um, how'd you do that thing with that rock?"

Terra's cheeks reddened. "I was just taking a walk. Not much else to do at this hour." She looked down at the small rock on the ground, and if possible, blushed harder. If anyone else had asked her, she would have point-blank refused to reply, but as she stared at the...two...in front of her, she realized they must have a similar story, perhaps her own was nothing compared to theirs. "I'm a geomancer," she tried to sound nonchalant, "been one for about a year now."

Redwing 'ooh'-ed, "I'm so jealous! That's such a cool power!"

Prestor Jon crowed, "well, I've got an awesome power too!"

Redwing hissed something that sounded like "shut it" at her wrist and then turned back to Terra with a smile, "I haven't had anyone else to talk to for days. I love him and all but, well, you know brothers. He's driving me a bit crazy."

"I feel so loved," Prestor Jon droned sarcastically.

Terra turned to the jet. It was obvious that they were not of British descent for their accents were a dead giveaway, and the fact that they owned a jet supported the theory that they were foreigners. "Where are you from?"

Prestor Jon managed to inform her (in a sing-song tone) that she just used up her first question, when Redwing placed her hand over the bracelet, effectively muting her brother's voice. Ignoring the muffled cries, Redwing proceeded to reply Terra's question in a content chirp, "the States. We were on a mission in Ireland when we got a distress signal from our friend Dagon- but we got pulled into a storm and somehow ended up here." Redwing premeditated Terra's next question and added, "we're okay. The jet suffered a bit but I'm pretty sure we can fix it before any civilians come." Suddenly, her eyes grew wide and she asked, "do you want to help?"

"I don't really know anything about jets but sure, I can try and help."

Redwing clapped her hands together, "don't worry. I'll find something for you to do." The three headed to the jet and the redheaded girl flew up to the hatch. She skulked around before returning with a tool box. Redwing worked hard the next two hours, fixing the broken engine. She would sometimes ask Terra to hand her a tool or help her reconnect loose wires and Prestor Jon would instruct his sister on how to do something when she was stuck. The two made a splendid team and Terra diligently did everything that was asked of her and found that the task was actually enjoyable when with people like Redwing and Prestor Jon.

While Redwing hovered over the engine, Prestor Jon explained his tale from 'innocent child' (Redwing had broken into a fit of giggles at that) to 'talking megabytes living on his twin sister's arm'. Terra managed to convince him that it still counted as her first question, after he had mentioned their agreement.

"Ever heard of STAR Labs?" Terra paled and nodded. "Our parents both worked there as scientists. They were in charge of a couple of experiments and one of them involved nuclear energy. There was an accident and our mom accidentally was exposed to radiation. She didn't know that it had affected her until we were born because, you see, Redwing and I were born with active meta-genes. She was born with wings but for a while, my parents thought I was normal. I had no weird mutations and the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me. It wasn't until I was seven that my powers showed up; I was playing on the computer when I...felt weird and I got absorbed into the mainframe."

"You were sucked inside your computer?"

"Why are you surprised?"

Tara chuckled; he had a point, seeing as he was a mechanical bracelet at the present moment. Before he could continue, she raised her arm slightly and asked, "what's a meta-gene? I've heard that word before... and I'm pretty sure someone's called me a meta-human once."

"Uh, well, the short version is that there are some people out there who were born with a special gene -a biological variant- inside them. I think there's about a million in the world, probably a bit more. For some, you're born with it, like me and Redwing but for others, it doesn't activate until- well, you said you got your powers a year ago?"

"Technically two," Terra corrected.

"Lemme guess, science experiment?"

Terra blinked, "that's right. How did you know?"

"The meta-gene can be manipulated or turned on by scientists, if they're even willing to try. The rest either get their powers due to stress or adrenaline, maybe a combo of both, or just go on with their lives like normal people. They never find out that if they ever had a tantrum, they might burst into flames or lasers could shoot from their eyes...that's what we learnt anyways. Most humans don't know much about Metas. Not as much as most of other races, anyways."

"Other...races?"

"Yea, aliens and stuff." Terra remembered reading about it in her magazine, there were many aliens living amongst them on Earth; heroes, settlers and invaders alike.

She briefly considered the explanation at hand; '_so even if Dr. Jace hadn't offered her science, I might have just turned into a geomancer one day? Wait. How did they even know that Brion and I, and Gregor since they wanted him too, would have the meta-gene? Were they just taking the risk_?'

"Anyways, back to the story. Our parents were scared what would happen to us, so they pulled me out of school. We were homeschooled for a while but I didn't really mind, and Redwing _loved_ having me around all day."

"You wish, tin can."

"Har-di-har-har. So, everything was great until we were nine. Our parents, without any warning, packed us up, started the car, and moved us away from Atlanta. A week later, a man visited the house. Mom and Dad told us he was our uncle and that he was going to take us on a mini-vacation for a few days.

Redwing slammed the hood of the trunk and sighed, "I was so excited. I was tired of being cooped up in our house, no pun intended, with nothing to do. Our parents never let me out, and if they did, Dad would strap my wings so they were less noticeable and then make me wear oversized sweaters."

"After a few days," Prestor Jon brought the attention back to him, "of just driving and no word from our parents, we started getting a little homesick. We asked our uncle," he used air quotes at the word 'uncle', "if we could go back home, but he just kept saying no."

"We bothered him about it for weeks until he finally gave in. I don't think even he knew exactly what we find when we got to the house," Redwing continued. "Rubble, the house had been completely destroyed-"

"-and our parents were gone. We still don't know what happened," Prestor Jon finished.

"Wow," Terra muttered sadly, "that's horrible."

"Don't worry about it," Redwing said and then completely changed the subject, "the engine's good to go. We should be able to leave now and hopefully get to Dagon on time."

"Ooh, _Daaagon_. Someone's got a boyfriend, someone's got a boyfriend!"

Redwing juddered in disbelief, "what? I-he-ewww, no! Take that back, Jonathan!"

"Make me! A brother knows about these things, y'know!" Terra couldn't help but be amused at the antics of these two siblings. "Redwing and Dagon sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Who's Dagon?"

Redwing covered Prestor Jon's speaker again before replying, "he's our friend, and teammate, from Pennsylvania. He's the reason why we were flying when the storm hit; he only sends us a distress beacon when it's an emergency...when he knows he might lose control. Dagon's a," she bit her tongue, "vampire."

Terra stared at her incredulously. First, people had superpowers, and then she learnt aliens were real, and now, vampires too? Brion liked to read stories about Frankenstein monsters, werewolves and even vampires but he and Gregor always assured her that they were fictional. "What?"

Redwing didn't say anything; instead, she lowered the hand cupping the bracelet's speaker. Prestor Jon gasped dramatically and shouted, "I can breathe!" Then, he muttered, "I hate when you do that."

"Well, then stop saying stupid stuff. Or, I could always get a mute button installed," Redwing told him, but she was smiling, showing she wasn't serious as to carrying out her threats. "Anyways, we should get going, right?"

"Yep," Prestor Jon confirmed it, just before an uncomfortable silence overtook them. Redwing and Terra stared at each other, unsure what came next, and Prestor Jon was willingly quiet until- "I, Prestor Jon, just got an incredible idea!"

"Ooh," Redwing tittered, "call the presses."

"I'm gonna ignore that- anyways, Terra should come with us!"

Redwing blinked and then she sighed, "PJ, you can't just ask someone to drop everything and come with us. It doesn't work like that, she probably wouldn't be able to and-"

"Wait," Terra spoke up, "you mean, leave here? Go to the United States? Are you serious? I'd love to!"

"Really?" Redwing asked, and upon Terra nodding, she shrieked cheerfully, "are you sure?"

"Yea, why not?" Terra grinned, '_anything to get out of this place_.' She pointed at the large camp bag that she was carrying, "I'm already packed and everything."

"This will be so much fun," Redwing rose to the air, "with your powers; I bet you could even help us with Dagon!"

Terra's face fell, "I don't know if that's the best idea."

Neither sibling heard her; Redwing was already flying towards the jet. She opened the hatch and egged Terra forward before giggling, "oops, I always forget other people can't fly!" She leapt down, grabbed Terra by the hand and pulled her up to the passenger's seat. Redwing then took her spot at the pilot's seat, and closed the hatch, "here we go!"

They went into the air, and after how-many-so minutes, Terra finally spoke, "wow, we're really high up."

"We're twenty-five thousand feet up," Redwing said, as she piloted the plane.

"Whoa."

"Hey, Terra," Prestor Jon made himself known, "you never asked your second question."

Terra laughed, she had nearly forgotten about that, "oh, okay...um, what does T.E stand for?"

"Team Extant," Prestor Jon answered, "remember that 'uncle' who we stayed with? After what happened with...our parents, he told us who really was. He's a former scientist and friend of our parents. They knew something bad was going to happen, so they convinced him to take us in order to keep us safe. Anyways, he suggested that we use our powers to help people and since he's done so much for us, we named the team after him."

The next hour was spent with the three pre-teens chatting aimlessly until Terra finally dozed off, the few hours of sleep she got everyday were catching up to her. Luckily, by the time she woke up, she felt well-rested enough to stay awake for the last two hours of their journey. It was dark out so all she could make out was small and colourful lights littering the Earth like fireflies to a flame. The jet began to jerk on the descent and made a rocky landing in front of a castle.

Terra heard a faint hissing noise and the hatch popped open. Redwing flipped around and chuckled, "sorry. I'm not the best at landing."

"Yea, I think she realized that already," Prestor Jon mumbled, considering how the three met.

Redwing helped Terra back to the ground and the three began their trek up to the castle. "That's where Dagon lives," Redwing explained, "and before you say anything, yes, it does look Count Dracula's castle, and yes, I do know that the stereotype is that vampires live in Transylvania, not Pennsylvania."

A cry pierced the air, guttural and pained. Terra had never heard a scream so desperate before in her life. It was coming from the castle and as soon as they heard it, Redwing quickened her pace.

"What was that?" Terra asked, jogging to keep up with the flying hybrid.

"Dagon," Redwing said, "he must be worse off than we thought." She reached into her pocket and took out a large silver key, which she used to unlock the wooden entrance. The two girls stormed through the castle, all the while the twins would be calling out Dagon's name.

"Uh-oh."

Terra gulped, sensing the audible worry in Prestor Jon's voice. At her feet was a door that looked like it had barely survived a throughout mauling by wild animals. It had been torn off by the hinges and deep gashes criss-crossed the surface, clearly caused by something with sharp claws.

Redwing crouched down, "this is worse than I thought- but it's definitely him..." She sniffed the air, "I've picked up his scent...he's close- and it's just a guess but I think he's watching us right now."

"You got all that from smell?"

"Tracking's my specialty," Redwing said, "be on the look-out, he could be dangerous right now."

"What does he want," Terra asked fearfully.

"What do you think? Human blood." Redwing sniffed the air again, "he's coming. Terra, I need you to activate your powers but stay completely still. He might not attack unless provoked."

Terra did so, all the while wondering how she had ended up in this situation.

"Dagon," Redwing called, "...Dagon?"

A figure walked towards them, revealing himself to be a wiry young boy. He had black hair tied back in a ponytail but bangs spilled wildly about over his face. His skin was grey and reminded her of that of a porcelain doll. It clashed with his vivid crimson eyes and the dark bags just underneath them. He was wearing an all-black attire; pants that were tucked into combat boots, and a turtleneck which was covered by a long trench-coat.

Something about him made Terra wary, despite his demeanour seeming calm and introverted. She felt goose-bumps rise on her arms and legs, and had to resist the urge to run.

"Dagon," Redwing worded it out carefully, "we just want to help you. Please."

Dagon looked interestedly at her then cocked his head, taking in Terra, "who is she?"

Redwing's wings ruffled to partially conceal Terra from view, "our friend."

"Ah, I see," the vampire continued to walk forward, his large boots failing to make a sound, "welcome."

Redwing relaxed a little, "are you all right? Your door-"

"I had a little accident," Dagon explained just over a whisper, "but everything is fine now."

"You sent us a distress signal, dude," Prestor Jon mentioned, "you only sent us those when you're in one of your freak out modes. What happened?"

"I told you, I made a mistake," there was no emotion behind his words.

"Yea, but-" the bracelet realized what was happening before either girl did, "oh, crud."

Redwing gasped as the vampire's fangs protruded from his mouth and his stance became more feral. Terra did not even see him pounce; one moment she was standing behind Redwing, and the next, she was on the ground with Dagon holding her down, hunger evident in his eyes.

He licked his lips and hissed, "it has been so long." Terra couldn't breathe, all her instincts were screaming at her to escape and run. Dagon grabbed Terra's hands and squeezed tightly, making her yelp in pain. He was very strong for his stature, a side effect from his vampirism. She felt a shiver down her spine as he leaned down, his mouth dangerously close to her neck.

"NO!" Redwing cried, grabbing Dagon's shoulders, "you know the rules! You know what will happen!"

Dagon deterred himself from Terra and focused on Redwing instead, "I do, but then again, I am wiling to take the risk."

While he talked, Terra crawled away and brought the hand that hurt less down to the floor. For a second, the whole ground shook, and then a spike shot up, taking Dagon by surprise. He was thrown into the air, but instead of crashing back down, he somersaulted mid-air and morphed into a small bat.

Redwing helped Terra stand, "are you all right? I'm so sorry! He's never been this bad before!"

Terra winced and retracted her hand, it looked slightly swollen. "I think he almost crushed my hand," she whimpered.

Before Redwing could reply, the vampire landed back on the ground in his original form. "Redwing," he spoke softly with pleading eyes, "just this once?"

Redwing dithered, and Terra felt a sense of serenity wash over her. He just wanted to survive, she thought, suddenly wanting nothing more than to comply with his wishes. She straightened up her posture and stuck out her neck, waiting for him to attack once more. Another male voice broke through her calmness, shouting, "snap out of it, guys! We have to stop him, remember?"

Redwing blinked and shook her head, "wha-I-" She gaped at Dagon, "you did not-!"

"What happened," Terra felt her head throb but whatever made her _want _Dagon to bite her seemed to have faded away.

"Dagon," Prestor Jon paused, thinking of the right words, "let's just say, he can charm anyone to do what he wants."

Redwing's features had turned to that of pure rage. She managed to ground out, "Terra. Move."

"Redwing," both Prestor Jon and Terra warned, but the girl was impervious to their worries.

"Don't worry. I can take him. He wants human blood, doesn't he?"

Terra had no idea what she meant, but Prestor Jon seemed to understand, "ohhh."

Redwing's wings spread out around her, creating a feathered wall that covered the entire hallway. Her hands shook and Terra watched in horror as her fingers mutated and her nails grew sharp and coarse, turning into talons. From the rim of her nose to the bottom of her jaw, a transformation of its own began taking place: it elongated into a dark red beak.

Redwing shrieked like a hawk hunting its prey and her wings slowly folded themselves back to normal. The nightrider glared at her, but he also looked confused. Terra realized what was happening; Dagon no longer knew for certain if Redwing was human or bird so he was not sure how he should attack.

What happened next, Terra did not even know. She had closed her eyes for the majority of it, only hearing the sounds of pain and violence coming from the two fighting, and the occasional shout from Prestor Jon. Redwing fought with precision, it looked like she had training in holding off Dagon, whose style, while less advanced, held an air of grace.

Redwing squawked as her opponent kicked her in the stomach. The attack threw her off her feet, knocking the wind out of her, and she hit the wall with a resounding crack. As Dagon advanced, the lights on Prestor Jon's bracelet turned red and a laser popped out from a cartridge. It blasted the vampire, catching him by surprise long enough for the warlike hybrid to kick off from the ground and zoom at him, sending them both toppling to the ground.

"Terra," Prestor Jon shouted over the battle cries of his sister and friend, "run! You have to leave now!"

"I can't leave you here," Terra argued, still pressed against the opposite wall.

"Do as I say! If you don't want to _die_, you have to leave RIGHT NOW!" Prestor Jon was silenced when Dagon evaporated into a cloud of mist, appearing again behind the siblings. Redwing did not duck in time and received a hard blow to the head, which Terra was sure would leave her seriously injured if she was still in her more humanoid state.

Terra watched as Redwing blocked the next attack and began to counter with her talons. Her feet felt glued to the ground but she forced herself to run. She was frightened, for the siblings, and for herself. It was cowardly, that she could admit, but fear and the instinct of survival was the human condition.

She collapsed miles from the castle, holding her injured hand with the other. She cursed herself for failing again, for running again. She sat down on a rotting log and massaged her hand between sobs.

She returned to the castle a few hours later, hoping to see the aftermath of the fight. To her surprise, it was eerily silent, the damage that they had made while fighting Dagon was the only proof that anyone had even been there. She searched every room that was unlocked, but Redwing, Prestor Jon and Dagon were gone. The Team Extant jet was missing too but she could see the path it took before taking off into the skies. Fear tugged at her, but she convinced herself that Redwing had beaten Dagon and they had restrained him. She did not have a reason as to why the jet was missing, but it was proof that Redwing and Prestor Jon were safe, or at the very least, alive.

Having nothing else to do, she found one of the spare bedrooms and stayed the night. Her logic was that if Dagon were still there, he would have attacked already. To be safe, she carried some boulders from outside and placed them around the bed to use for protection if she heard anything.

**

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**

**LOLWTFBBQ! What? OH, NOTHING. **

**Just the new roster for the Teen Titans: **_**Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Raven, Superboy, Ravager and Wonder Girl…hmm, and maybe a little Robin too?**_** LOVE. Except, Miss. Martian is gone and Red Robin didn't join up :( but besides that, LOVE. I love Gar, Bart, Raven, Rose, Damian and Conner!...Cassie's all right...I guess. Just as long as she isn't the leader...*is still hopeful that Gar will be the leader***

**[1] Had to change the Levine family's origins a little, since Lord Chaos can't be responsible for it since- it's an alternate universe, the 'future' and well, Donna Troy is...twelve...right now.**

**[2] Extant was actually a villain and ex-Teen Titan member Hawk aka Hank Hall. He implanted fake memories in the Teamers' heads and used them as sleeper agents for his whole evil plan in Zero Hour. For many reasons, there is no possible way that Hank could be Extant in this story.**

**On a whim, I wrote most of chapter twenty six and twenty seven of this story instead of this. ^_^' Hehe, at least you'll know you won't have to wait long when I get to those chapters.**

**Remember to review and such! Brion's chapter is tomorrow!**


	13. Interlude: Royal Thrones

_Disclaimer: I don't own Geo-force, the Markov family, Dr. Jace...or really anything about this. If I did, most of the issues of Teen Titans Go! would have been made into episodes. And not just so I could hear Affection flirt with Beast Boy and call him 'Beasty-boo'...no, not at all._

**Author's Note: We interrupt this program for a message from our sponsors.**

**While Terra begins her journey from Philadelphia to Jump City, **_**we **_**travel back to the country of Markovia to see what has happened since the princess ran away. **

**In this chapter, Brion is eleven/twelve and Gregor is thirteen/fourteen.**

**I introduce to you _A Geo-force tale: Of Royal Thrones and Broken Families. Part 1._**

**_

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Brion never really considered what the future had in store for him. He had always been the type to focus on the present, on the now. He never imagined at the time that the slightest possibility of any of what happened to him or his family during the course of his life was remotely feasible.

His sister was leaving.

His pen graced the paper as words began to form, each letter carefully written as though it would stall the forthcoming delivery. Tara's voice still echoed in his mind, repeating the tidbit of information that she knew over and over again.

"Your brother, Brion," he mumbled as he wrote it down at the bottom of the page. Brion leaned over and grabbed the butterfly clip and the wrapping paper. Time ticked on as he unsuccessfully tried to wrap the clip up; the end result was hasty and clumsy, but it would have to do. He quickly added on a 'ps' on his letter before shoving the note in a white envelope and taping it on his present.

He walked to Tara's room but could not find the strength to knock on the door. He felt like a coward; his sister was leaving and he couldn't even bring himself to say goodbye. He knew if he tried to face her, he would either try to stop her or end up going with her. Neither option would work, however, he knew that much.

'_Aren't older brothers supposed to stop their siblings from doing stupid things?'_

His conscience sounded suspiciously like Gregor. Brion sighed and dropped the package on the ground, stalling another moment before tapping on the door and leaving before she opened the door.

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As far as he could tell, there was nothing different in the halls and grounds of the palace to even suggest that Tara was gone. It was still there though, the nagging feeling that something was amiss, the silence that followed him everywhere and the constant mentions about it from his family.

Everyone at the castle took the news a different way. King Viktor had been outraged when he first learned of it and was positively adamant that his wife's daughter be found post-haste. Not one for bad press, he had been publicly promoting a search for Tara. It had yet to provide any results, which was something that Brion was sure would not change anytime soon. The chances of finding Tara were slim enough, but there was no way that she would return unwillingly.

The Queen wasn't told; the doctors thought that the news would be the final blow to her health. It was torture visiting his mother on her deathbed; she had been moved to the general hospital just west of Bzoq, where she would stay to her final day. She was frail and thin with sunken cheeks, whenever he touched her, he could feel the bones. His biggest fear was that every visit would be the last time he would see her alive. Her death was imminent, the virus that had inflicted her was killing her from the inside and she only had a small time left.

Gregor was befuddled when Brion told him but had then instantly blamed himself for how he had treated her after the incident at the fountain. It took Brion weeks to convince him otherwise, and although Gregor had stopped griping about that, his younger brother's assurances had planted another assumption in his mind. Gregor was certain that Brion knew more than he was letting on and would constantly corner him with the same comments: "if you know where she is or why she left, I think you should tell himabout it! Don't be an idiot about this, Brion!" That or he would go on about how Tara was too young to handle the 'real world'. Brion generally ignored the ramblings of his brother. Tara was fine, he would repeat sternly in his head, though a part of him knew that Gregor was right and _he_ was living in denial.

Brion spent all his energy with only one thing. He spent day and night, often losing precious hours of sleep, wondering how he was supposed to confront the people who had given him his powers. Tara believed that he could stop them, but how could he- by himself? All he knew was that anger boiled within him whenever he imagined Immortus, or Sivana and Jace, or the traitor that was Mr. Platov. How could he make them pay for everything they had done to him and his sister, and especially before they went through with what they were planning to do to his country?

The laboratory had been sealed shut ever since Tara had run away, and Brion had not seen or heard anything of the villains. That didn't stop him from walking down every night to check, hoping to see someone come in or out of the room. It was starting to seem hopeless when, two weeks later, he caught Dr. Jace trying to sneak in.

After that, everything was a blur. All he knew was that he had yelled, pointed and accused, spilling everything that had plagued his mind for the past fortnight. The cornered woman was speechless, not replying when he demanded an explanation. His orange hands curled into fists; he had not been expecting a response, but her silence only gave him more excuse to be angry. He was a Prince, not a tool or a pawn! He would not be ignored!

"...Brion..."

He wanted vengeance for being used. He wanted revenge for Tara.

"...listen...Prince Brion..."

Dr. Jace's mouth was moving now, she was saying something. He knew he should listen but everything felt muted, he was deafened with rage.

"…help me, Prince Brion, you can help me..."

That got through to him. He deactivated his powers and, perhaps a little angrier than intended, asked, "what!"

**_

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Brion leaned back, using the wall as support, and finally said, "I don't understand. Start from the beginning."

"I was working at one of Markovia's top scientific institutes when I met General Immortus. You have to understand, Prince Brion, that Markovia is very important to me. I have never been anything but loyal to our great nation. That is why when the General told me his plans, I was quick to believe him."

"Right. I got that," Brion muttered before asking, "what exactly did he tell you?"

"The same thing we told your parents," Dr. Jace said, "about how Markovia needed protectors-that they needed you."

"Why us?" Brion waited for her to elaborate. "We're just kids!"

Dr. Jace hesitated. "There were rumours about-"

Brion's initial anger returned with a roar, "not this again! I already know about the rumours about my mother and sister, okay? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Prince Brion! You seem to be confused -I was not talking- I'm talking of a family secret that started many centuries ago." Brion's eyebrows lowered and Dr. Jace continued, "one surrounding a group of Earth elementals who took up residence in what is now the monarchic nation of Markovia."

"Markovia's been around for over two hundred years," Brion recited, remembering how he had learnt the history of the country by his tutors; it was his favourite subject. "Before, it was a colony ruled by Austria until, led by my ancestor, they fought for their independence and crowned him as King."

"Yes, you now your history. While it was still a colony, there was a group of men and women who called themselves Elementals, and claimed that they could call upon the Earth itself to do their bidding. This was in the late 1600's when many people still believed in witchcraft so it was no surprise that it was the first thing they assumed when villagers started to claim that they had seen the Elementals use their abilities."

"Were they executed?"

"Some. Your ancestor rallied a mob to capture the Elementals but a few managed to escape. General Immortus had been doing research on what happened to them ever since."

"Wait-" Brion's nose wrinkled; the way she said that made it sound as though General Immortus was there, but it had been in the seventeenth century. How was that possible?

Dr. Jace shook her head, "no, Immortus was not there. He heard about it but I believe," she clicked her tongue, "hmm, I am not sure where he was at the time. History is not my forte and I don't believe there were many wars in that era."

"Immortus was alive in the 1600's?"

"General Immortus is immortal," she explained, "the 'forever soldier'. No one knows when he was born or how long he has lived, but he has told stories dating Before Christ. Attila the Hun, Josef Stalin, Vlad the Impaler, Adolf Hitler; he has worked with them all. He even claims to have helped Sun Tzu write 'The Art of War'."

Brion tried not to let it loose that this was starting to overwhelm him. "What did he find out about the Elementals?"

"Ah, yes. He found out most of their locations, one in particular caught his attention. Does the name 'Katerina Koslov' sound familiar?" Brion shook his head. "Do you know your mother's maiden name?"

Brion's eyes widened, "Koslov. Anna Koslov."

"Exactly. General Immortus knew it too. Brion, you and your siblings, are directly descended from the infamous 'Earth Elementals'. They weren't witches, but they _were_ meta-humans, and powerful ones to boot."

"Our powers," Brion looked down at his hands, "I thought-"

"I just activated your already existing meta-gene. Unfortunately, we could not tap into your full powers. That is why your only power is geokinesis." Brion thought he saw a glint in her eyes, but wrote it off as glare from her glasses.

"Why did you do it?" He gritted his teeth, "you could have just left the project. If your story is true, then they wouldn't have been able to do it without your help!"

She shook her head, "by the time I found out, they already had everything they needed from me. They used me for my knowledge of genetic engineering, and after that, the only reason I wasn't killed was because they knew that something might go wrong that they wouldn't be able to handle by themselves. They wouldn't let me go either to ensure that their plans didn't get out. I was frightened. I didn't know what they would do to me if I...tried to escape or...fight back."

Brion didn't reply. He tried to keep a level head as he analysed her story, trying to find evidence that she was lying. He found none; she sounded frightened and very heartfelt. She was either telling him the truth or she was an extraordinary actress. He tried to recall all the hours he and Tara spent with these people; Dr. Jace had been formal to them at most, but she was the friendliest of the lot and it did seem she had noble intentions.

"Right. Let's say I believe you. What now?" Dr. Jace shrugged, not sure. Brion furrowed his eyebrows, "you know their entire plan, right?"

"Yes, I suppose so," the doctor nodded.

"If you really are as loyal as you say you are, then I know how you can make it up to me and Markovia." He lowered his voice, "you could be my spy. You'll tell me everything you find out and that way I can be one step ahead of them at all times. And make sure I can stop them." His gaze turned cold, something unnatural for a child his age, "but if you side with them, if you turn out to be lying, you'll get a worse punishment as them. I guarantee it."

Judging by Dr. Jace's look of horror, she knew he was not kidding.

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The next few days were spent planning; he decided to set aside his misgivings towards his father and tell him about the ruse on the condition that the older man would go along as though he was still ignorant to the fact. With Dr. Jace as their informant, he and the King were able to form a clear plan of action. At first, King Viktor had been against Brion taking any further part in it, but Brion's persistence won in the end.

General Immortus resumed his training weeks later, and in their company, Brion acted as if nothing was amiss. He treated Dr. Jace the same as he did before their partnership began and vice versa. He was still not sure whether to trust the doctor or not, so he decided that the best thing to do was keep her in the dark about certain things. He only spoke to her about the plans and operations of his enemies, and she did not ask about his.

Slowly, as days turned to weeks which, in turn, became months, he found himself trusting Dr. Jace more and more. She proved her true loyalty the following Autumn, when she asked Brion and his father to come down to the laboratory one night to show them something that she had completed.

He was slightly wary, but as far as he knew, none of the other villains were around to ambush them. General Immortus had left a week prior on another mission against the Doom Patrol and Dr. Sivana was travelling to the United States, supposedly for a meeting with LexCorp, but Dr. Jace had informed Brion that Sivana actually had a court date with his ex-wife and her lawyers. Even the traitorous leech that was his former caretaker, Mr. Platov, was gone, although as to where, Brion did not know or care less.

When they arrived, they saw Dr. Jace huddled around many papers at a desk that once held beakers and other chemistry products. She stood up when she saw them and bowed respectfully, "Prince Brion, King Viktor."

"Hello, Doctor," Brion smiled and bowed back, "what did you want to see us for?"

She gestured towards the desk, "do you remember how I told you that I hadn't been able to tap into your full powers?"

"Yes?" He asked, admittedly curious.

"I didn't tell you, however, that I had been -secretly, mind you, I didn't tell any of _them_ about my findings- working on advancements in my engineering projects. I found a way to expand on an active meta-gene and develop it to its maximum potential. Like yours."

"I don't know, Dr. Jace, I really don't want to go through that-" he jabbed his finger over to the abandoned tubes where he and Tara had been harvested for months- "again. Not to mention, we're planning on ending this thing very soon."

"That's the beauty of it," Dr. Jace explained, "you wouldn't have to!" She handed him one of the sheets of paper to examine, but he couldn't understand anything. It was full of diagrams and complicated equations. "Due to your active gene, it would only take a few hours and it's a little simpler than the activating procedure."

"So...no tubes?" Dr. Jace nodded. "_And_ new powers?"

King Viktor spoke up, stroking his chin, "hmm, and since the General doesn't know, we could use it to our advantage."

"Well, what do you think?"

Brion exchanged a glance with his father, "it sounds great and everything, but I still don't know."

"You're still worried that this whole thing is a trap, aren't you? That I'm just pretending to switch sides?"

Brion grimaced, "it's crossed my mind."

"Mine too," King Viktor growled, "can you prove this is real? For all we know, if we accept, you could be actually using your hokey science to hurt my son."

"If you doubt the authenticity of my work, have another scientist look at it. I do not joke around with science and I would never _willingly_ use it for harm! If you wish, My Liege, you can be there to witness it. Keep an eye on me, if you will." Her eyes narrowed, "or perhaps skip right ahead to having one of your guards hold me at gunpoint?"

"Impudence," King Viktor snarled, "I could have you-"

"Father! Calm down," Brion cut him off before turning to the doctor, "let's do it as soon as possible."

"Tomorrow?" Dr Jace suggested, "before they return?"

"Sounds good," Brion nodded, "uh-we should be going, right, Father?"

The king nodded stiffly, still in a staring showdown with the doctor. As Brion walked to the door, he managed to hear his father whisper threateningly, "if you hurt my son, I will kill you where you stand. Do you understand?"

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Brion was strapped into a chair, attached to wires that connected him to a few of the machines in the laboratory. Ahead of him, he could see Dr. Jace and his father in the small control room adjacent to the main room. He had been here for the past few hours, doing all the preparations before the main part of the experiment took place.

He didn't mind the wait, the only part that was bothering him was the horrible aftertaste of the pill and the chemical concoction he had just taken. A small grin tingled on his lips; he could only imagine the whining if it was Gregor or Tara in his place.

"Ready?" Dr. Jace's voice came from above him, through a speaker. He nodded, and Dr. Jace boomed, "you will feel a slight shock and some pain, but it will only last a few minutes."

"Right."

A buzz sounded and he felt a light tingle through the wires connected to his temples. The shocking sensation made its way down his body, growing stronger by the second. His muscles twitched in agony, and he found himself clutching the arms of his seat tightly while grinding his teeth, anything to avoid the scream that was currently on the tip of his tongue. The pain was soon proving to strong for his resolve; every part of him hurt so badly and whenever he tried to open his eyes, all he could see was red. Finally, he could not sustain it any longer and he let loose the bellow that he had been holding in for the past few minutes.

Suddenly, the pain evaporated, it was gone. He felt empowered, stronger than he had ever been. He plucked the wires from his skin and stood up, grinning widely at the window just across from him.

"Well, Dr. Jace?" he asked enthusiastically, "what can I do?"

Dr. Jace harboured a small grin herself as she leaned into the microphone, "in addition to your geokinesis, you now have strength similar to that of Wonder Woman herself." Brion eyed the laboratory, wanting to test this claim, but knew better than breaking expensive equipment. "you will grow stronger the closer you are with the Earth."

"So, I'd be stronger outside?"

"That is correct," she nodded, "you also have durability above that of an average human. You are bullet-proof and resistant against most types of trauma. On the off-chance you are injured, the Earth can be used to heal you back to your full strength- even if you are on the brink of death."

"Useful," King Viktor noted.

Dr. Jace continued, "you now have a power I call 'Lava Blasts'; you can channel the heat within the Earth's core through your hands, which will result in the aforementioned blasts. You have to be careful, however, at their weakest, they are still 900°C...too hot for a normal human to handle."

"What's the maximum?" King Viktor asked her as Brion studied his hands.

Dr. Jace looked down at her notes, "I'm not certain, but it is way beyond 4,000°C. Anyways, you can now manipulate gravity- by making objects lighter or heavier or even changing the gravitational pull around an entire area. This power depends on a lot of variables but it is still very helpful. I have also found that you can combine these abilities."

"How?" Brion asked, wondering of how gravity and lava could possibly be used in relation to each other.

"By using your null-gravity powers on yourself and then using the lava blasts in the same way a rocket would, you will be able to _fly_. Of course, being in the air for too long can cause you problems."

"What kind of problems?" Brion asked half-heartedly. He had been so excited to know that he could now fly. He sighed, there was always a catch.

"You will just tire out and your powers will be weaker."

"Oh," he grinned again, "that's okay. I'll just-"

She cut him off, now looking grave. "Be careful, Prince Brion. If you spend too much time away from the Earth...you will _die_."

His smile faded. Always a catch.

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"Good work, Prince Brion, but you still need to perfect formation Beta."

Brion wiped sweat from his brow; he was at the training grounds with everyone in position. It had been two weeks since his new powers manifested, and he already had a good handle on them. And so, he and the king had decided that that day would be the best day to attack; when they least expected it and were out in the open.

"Sorry, Sir." He glanced over at Dr. Jace who nodded discreetly. Brion smirked for that meant that everything and everyone was ready. He was standing on a boulder which was levitated a few feet in the air. He flew closer to Immortus and asked in an almost-innocent tone, "Sir? Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" The forever soldier asked.

Brion jumped off the boulder and said, "before Tara left, she told me something that was very...interesting."

Sivana's eyebrows rose to where his hairline should have been, "what'd she tell you?"

"Oh, just about how you're planning to take over Markovia and use me as a weapon!" The casualty in his voice was replaced with a literal snarl. He pointed up at them, "is that true?"

"Now, Prince Brion, you don't know the full story," General Immortus croaked, "please let us explain." Brion crossed his arms, letting Immortus believe he was willing to listen- just as he had been when Tara had been suspicious and he assumed she was being overdramatic. His stomach churned, remembering that time. "We gave you this power and-"

"Listen, kid, like we told your idiot sister, there's nothing you can do about it!" General Immortus glared at Sivana for his outburst, to which the former tycoon shrugged, "wha-at? We already tried your way on Tara and look where that got us! The twerp ran away and I still have a limp!"

Brion cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him, "you don't think I can do anything about it?"

"Of course not," said Immortus, "you are outnumbered and outgunned. Even though you are a geomancer, you forget that we control these entire grounds."

"That means," Dr. Sivana sneered, "one misstep and it's bye-bye."

"I see," Brion nodded coolly, "well, what if I told my father? Or my guards, who have all the clearance they need to be able to throw you into prison?"

"Your father? Ha! The fool who cannot even satisfy his own wife?"

"We already have a plan in case your father finds out," Mr. Platov added, "even if you told him-"

Hearing the voice of the person who had been a father figure to him for the last few years, the person who had fooled him into believing he was mute, made Brion snap. He interrupted, "what if I already told him?"

"What?"

"What if he was already here with over a dozen guards, waiting for my signal?" All three men looked shocked, to say the least. Dr. Sivana spluttered while General Immortus' mouth drew itself into a thin line. Brion smirked, "what if this entire conversation had been filmed? Oh, and by the way, you know how you said that I was a geomancer?" His fists began to eradicate a fiery glow, "you're only half right!" A blast of lava shot from his finger tips, blowing the control box apart, sending the men flying in opposite directions. He did not stop his flare of power; instead, he turned in a complete circle. Explosions rung in his ears as the lava hit all the equipment and melted a hole in the gate.

He whistled a high pitched tune, which cued his father and the rest of the cavalry to action. Men in black and grim expressions ran in from nowhere, quickly detaining all of the scientists in the area. Dr. Jace had equipped them with a holographic image that had hidden their location until now.

Brion turned then from one villainous man to the other, weighing his options. This was personal, he decided, and that meant he would begin with the most personal criminal. He jumped on his aforementioned boulder and flew over to the man attempting to stand up. "Mr. Platov," he said, "you lied to me, my family, and my country. Explain yourself."

"Are you upset," the man asked, "that your _nanny_ was working against you this whole time?" He snorted, rising to his feet, "you're too sensitive for your own good."

"Why did you pretend to be mute?" Brion asked, holding one lit up fist up as warning.

"It was part of my cover," Mr. Platov said, somehow still holding his pompous tone, "whoever would believe that the mute man would be a spy?"

At this, Brion felt the same rage he had been feeling lately increase tenfold. He snarled, "a long time ago, you asked me if I knew my superhero name yet. Well," he grabbed Platov by the collar and, using only one hand, raised the man over his head and threw him across the field. He heard Platov's scream, which ended abruptly when said man crashed into the fence. His hat fell off a few feet away and a burnt mark had singed his jacket where Brion had touched him. "IT'S GEO-FORCE!" Brion saw Dr. Sivana cowering behind him. "By my crown," he shouted, "are all of you cowards?"

The prince focused on the villain, who began to crawl away. The ground underneath him began to twist and Sivana began to sink, "hey! What's going on?"

"Quicksand," Brion said, "struggling makes it worse, you know. Especially when you weigh as much as an elephant!"

Dr. Sivana was buried up to his shoulders by then. Brion raised his hand and hardened the mud, before turning back to Mr. Platov. Spikes of Earth stabbed the sky, creating a pen to surround his ex-caretaker. "Try to get out of that one."

With two men captured, that only left the ringleader. Brion flew by boulder over to where General Immortus had been restrained by two guards. "Let him go," Brion commanded. The two guards threw Immortus to the ground and stepped back, not wanting to be hit in the crossfire. Brion stepped down from his rock and glared down at the old man at his feet, "you planned this well. I can see why you're considered such a big-shot soldier- but see, looking at your past, I noticed one thing. You always side with the losers. No matter how decorated or experienced you are, you still always lose. Can you guess why?" The man grunted and Brion concluded, "because _you_ are a loser."

"I know every single detail of your plan; how you threatened and blackmailed my father's council, how you began to promote us to the civilians, how you planned to assassinate my parents, how you planned to win our trust and then trick two children -impressionable, vulnerable kids- to work for you when they were too upset about their parents' deaths to think about it, to know any better!"

"How-"

"How do I know all of this?" Brion guessed, "you're not the only one with a spy!"

Immortus' eyes snapped opened and he snapped his head back to look at Dr. Jace, who was standing beside the king and three security officers. "YOU?"

"Yea, her. She gave me these powers as well."

To his surprise, General Immortus started to chuckle which quickly subsided to guttural coughing. He leered up at the prince, "very thorough, Prince Brion. One of my best students once said, 'it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperilled in a hundred battles.' In other words, to know your enemy, you must become your enemy. Well done."

Brion raised an eyebrow and it took him a second to reply, "it doesn't matter anymore. I beat you. We have enough charges against you to make sure you're in prison for a long time." He gestured over to the guards, "take him away. Uh, them too, while you're at it." The mud spat out Sivana and the spikes disinigrated into piles of dirt.

The guards led the three villains and their henchmen out of the grounds while King Viktor, Dr. Jace and Brion watched.

Dr. Jace looked over at Brion through lowered spectacles. "Geo-force?"

"Heh. It just came to me."

Geo-force looked at the horizon; the sun was setting, bringing with it the promise of a new day.

**_

* * *

_**

The room was unnaturally quiet. Brion could only hear Gregor's harsh intakes of breath and the soft echo of the final, resounding beep of the heart monitor that had sounded only moments ago.

He was still holding his mother's hand, even after she took her final breath. His fingers gripped hers tighter, his eyes locked on the IV catheter attached to her wrist. He didn't want to let go, he knew what would happen if he did. Gregor shook beside him, but like Brion, no tears fell from his brother's face. This was no shock, they had prepared themselves for what had happened but it hadn't worked. If it had, he wouldn't feel the way he did. It felt like there was some sort of block on him that prevented him from breaking down into tears- and he hated it. Holding in , albeit unintentionally, felt a thousand times worse than a few sobs ever would.

He felt his father's hand press on his shoulder and the king's whisper carried across the room.

"Gregor, get the doctor."

**_

* * *

_**

The funeral was held at sunset on the castle grounds on a relatively warm day. King Viktor had wanted to keep it small, but there was still more than three hundred guests in attendance. Everyone wore black, the traditional garb to such an event. Brion fiddled with the collar of his black swallow-tailed coat, eyeing all the guests as they sat in their assigned seats. He only recognized a few people, distant relatives he had only met a few times or important political leaders from other countries, from the masses.

Ambassador Jennings tapped him on the shoulder and shook his hand, apologizing for his loss. Brion nodded politely, thanking him for his grievances, and then returned to his seat. The word loss made it sound like he had just lost a round of fencing against Gregor, not that one of the most important people in his life was dead.

The proceedings had been earlier that day, with hundreds of members of the armed services marching down the streets of Markovsburg. The Bearer Party and Gun Carriage was in tow, carrying the coffin of his departed mother. Bringing up the rear was the remainder of the Royal Family, which was only him, his brother and father plus the relatives that were the politically closest to their immediate family.

The lying-in state was the most difficult to bear, with the reporters and cameramen running around the chapel, filming all the citizens who came to pay respects to the Queen. He had stayed at the back with Gregor, avoiding the people who walked by. Brion remembered seeing King Viktor speak with one of the reporters, a young blonde woman who had loudly referenced herself as Joan Lincoln. After an hour or so, Gregor had excused himself and ran off into the crowd, without saying where he was going. Brion did not wish to pry but he did take note that he had heard a crack in his brother's voice as he left.

Not wanting to be alone, Brion made his way to the front of the chapel. He found himself unable to move once he was face to face with the casket. There was rope, and a few guards, around it, to ensure protection during the state as it was open to the public. The coffin was covered by a thick purple cloth with gold trimmings and the House of Markov's coat of arms emblazed in the middle. A wreath of flowers laid on top, as did a small pillow with the Queen's crown.

Tears trickled down his face as he stared at the coffin of his mother, realization finally hitting him. A man walked past him and lowered himself to his knees in front of the casket, whispering jumbled prayers underneath his breath. When the man's shoulders began to shake, Brion realized that he was sobbing. He knew some of the citizens were upset, but one would only cry like that if they had lost something personal to them.

"Did you know her?" Brion walked up to the man, fighting off a sob of his own.

The man's shoulders tensed and he craned his neck back, seeing who was talking to him. Once he saw the young boy, he relaxed and nodded, "yes, I did. She was someone I cared about deeply." His Romanian was very fluent but he had a strong foreign accent. He ran his fingers through his short hair and grimaced at Brion, "you have her eyes."

Brion didn't say anything, just nodded and hiccupped as his chest contracted.

"My prayers go to you and your family, Prince Brion," the man said softly, rising back to his feet. Brion noticed he was holding a singular red rose between his middle and index fingers.

"Thank you," Brion whispered, staring up at the man's face. He had never seen the man before in his life, but then again, his parents had never been anything but formal with him and his siblings. His father and mother had pasts they had never shared and probably never would.

The man leaned down and dropped the rose in front of the guards, before turning on his heel. Brion suddenly felt panicked, "wait!" The man turned back, confused...and afraid? "Who are you? How did you know my mother?"

"My name is John," he said, burying his hands in his pockets and walking away, "and I'm a friend."

He was lost in the crowd, leaving Brion wide-eyed and- "whoa."

After the funeral ended, Brion and Gregor snuck off and walked quietly around the unused part of the grounds. It was Gregor's idea but Brion had quickly agreed; he knew if he stayed behind, he would be ambushed by mourners. He did not think he could handle hearing one more person he'd never met before say, 'sorry for your loss'.

"...Gregor?"

"Huh?"

This would be the last time in a while that they would be alone, Brion figured, and the question had been burning in his mind since that morning. Brion finally found his voice, "what was Tara's father's name?"

Gregor raised an eyebrow, but answered anyway. "John Davies. Why?"

"I think I met him today."

Gregor stopped walking, "um-_what_?"

Brion rubbed the back of his neck, sending a sheepish look at his brother, "at the lying-in state."

"How?" Gregor asked, completely flabbergasted, "I was with you the whole time-I-how?"

"No, remember you...left near the end... I went up to the front and he was there. He told me his name was John and he was crying. I don't even know- but it looked like he was hurting. Bad. He even told me that he knew Mom...and he had an accent. It could have been American, right?"

Gregor blinked, "did he -uh-" Brion had never seen Gregor speechless before, then again, the whole situation with their parents always brought new sides to Gregor's personality. "Did he look like her?"

Brion shook his head, "no."

"It makes sense," his brother sighed, "Tara looked exactly like Mother." He scoffed, "I guess even nature wanted her affair to stay a secret." They stood in silence again, before Gregor whispered, "now they're both gone."

Brion flinched, "you're wrong. Tara's still out there."

"You don't know that for sure." Brion glared at Gregor, and the blond added, "Brion, I'm being realistic."

"No! You're being negative, just like you always are!" Gregor didn't reply and Brion added, "I'll find Tara myself, with or without your help!" Brion jumped in the air, his null-gravity power already in affect, and focused on his hands. The lava blasts shot him into the air and he propelled himself up to the skies, trying to steady himself. He was still not used to using multiple powers at once, but soon, he adjusted and flew faster.

He didn't need Gregor's help, anyway.

**_

* * *

_**

**Geo-force is in the houuuuse! I feel like going Hulk on you guys, "GEO-FORCE SMASH!" He was really angry in this chapter. Not exactly fitting of Tara's vision of him, which portrays him in an almost perfect light. :)**

**Wow. Long chapter. I hope I did the proceedings for a Royal funeral right.**

**And a long explanation for the people who didn't understand everything that happened:**

**[1] Dr. Sivana used to be a rich businessman, similar to that of Lex Luthor. Captain Marvel destroyed Sivana's business empire rendering him resource-less and bitter. I could see Sivana having delusions that his business is still big, which is why he told everyone that he had a business meeting with LexCorp. He is also divorced. He married and had four kids but it didn't work out...I wonder why.**

**[2] Dr. Jace was one Brion's closest confidantes and his advisor for many years. I wanted that to stay in the story after reading the Outsiders. Why? Well, for a reason that will be made clear in Brion's next chapter...buahaha.**

**[3] I took some creative license with the origin of the Markov's powers. In the comics, it is true that the three siblings come from a line of people who have the ability to manipulate Earth. It is not explained thoroughly, or at least, it hasn't yet. All we know is that only someone from the Markov Royal family can have these powers. There are no other geomancers in the entire DCU without Markov DNA (while Terra II and Terra III are Stratans, they both have the original Terra's DNA). Considering that in this story, I had to make the Queen the one with the affair in order to coincide with Terra's origin story in TTG! #51, Terra is not genetically a Markov. So, if I went with what we know in the comics, she would not have been able to get her powers. So, I changed it.**

**[4] Woo! I gave Brion his full powers! In the comics, the reason why Tara was a geomancer yet Brion had a more diverse Earth-based power set was because Terra forced Dr. Jace to give her powers while the experiment was still in early developmental stage. Brion got his later on, during the invasion by Baron Bedlam. Terra and Geo-Force had only met each other a few times before Terra joined forces with Deathstroke, and even at her funeral, Brion mentions that he and Gregor never really knew their half-sister since she never lived with them. **

**[5] Ambassador Jennings and Joan Lincoln are actual (fictional) characters that live in Markovia. Jennings was one of the candidates for prime minister of Markovia. Joan Lincoln is/was(?) the main reporter for all things relating to the Outsiders and Markovia. Urgh, she's very annoying- but at least she wasn't an acolyte of Brother Blood's cult like Brittany Snow (the main reporter from the New Teen Titans) was.**

**[6] A small part of this chapter (the fight scene) is based on a flashback panel of Teen Titans Go! #51, which shows Brion throwing the man I call Mr. Platov while Dr. Sivana (whom I'm pretty sure is confirmed as being him) cowers in the background.**

**[7] _'It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperilled in a hundred battles'_ is an excerpt from Sun Tzu's book of war. In Teen Titans episode 'Homecoming Pt.2', General Immortus says that Sun Tzu was one of his best students.**

**Okay, guys, next chapter goes back to Terra. It's mostly a filler chapter, in my opinion, because nothing really important happens- but I need to show Terra's journey. Special cameos make up for it though!**


	14. Chapter Twelve: Runaways

_Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this chapter. If I did, no one would have cried for justice, if you know what I mean. You don't? Well, then...you're lucky. _

**Author's Note: It's been so long since I last updated! My computer was windswept with viruses and I had to get a new one. Sigh. School and writer's block kept me away too. This chapter was just so difficult and ugh, I don't like it at all. I've already written chapter thirteen so you won't have to wait a long time for the next update. **

**I have to warn you that there is be some mention of drugs, alcohol, prostitution and underage pregnancy in this chapter as Terra ends up in a place where such things are frequent and inevitable. **  


* * *

  
When Terra woke up early the next morning, she did not waste a moment to vacate the castle as quickly as she could. The eerie atmosphere of the castle followed her for the remainder of the day and nothing she did could rid the worry she felt for the twins' safety. She had even pawed through her now-tattered magazine but she could not find any page holding information on Team Extant. It was as if they had merely been a sordid figment of her imagination. She knew how ridiculous that was considering that they had flown her to America, but the feeling persisted.

Terra travelled through the countryside for the next following days, passing by small towns along the way. She would find shelter in abandoned barns and empty caves, but would never stay in one place longer than a day or two. The first thing Terra had done had been to exchange her European currency for American dollars. Surprisingly, she had managed to ration her money and still had some leftover. The problem was that her moneybag was becoming smaller and smaller as time went on, to the point that she was lucky if she ate one full meal every day. She had even started to notice that her already petite figure had began to thin. The lack of nutrition also made it harder for her to use her powers; it was bad enough in regular circumstances but how was she supposed to lift up a boulder when all she could concentrate on was her empty stomach?

* * *

Terra pressed her fingers against the window of the small pizzeria, covetously breathing in the cheesy scent wafting through the front door. She was in Opal City, just one of the many small conurbations in Philadelphia. It was dark out but she wasn't positive what the exact time was. She felt the change in her pocket and sighed before turning away from the glass. She had already eaten that afternoon and couldn't afford another meal until the next day, at least.

Suddenly, she heard the unmistakable sound of screeching tires somewhere behind her. The headlights of an older-looking car swerved through the dark streets, going just beyond the speed limit. As it passed her, she managed to see something fast glint under a streetlight. Slicing through the air, it struck the vehicle, veering it off-course and until it slammed into a fire hydrant. She flinched as a deafening alarm pounded while the hydrant burst a fountain of water all over the hood. The driver swung his door open and kicked the side of the car, swearing loudly at his misfortune. The rest of the passengers, a group of men and women in dark clothing and masks stumbled out. Half went to the trunk of the vehicle and grabbed a bunch of heavy looking sacks while the rest examined their ride for an explanation

"The tire's flat," one of the men snarled over the driver's cursing.

"It's not _just _flat." A woman reached down and grabbed something attached to the tire. Terra cautiously moved closer, and saw that the woman was holding a sharp green arrow. "Take a look at this."

"Crap! This isn't even his town!"

"Let's make a run for it, guys!" Terra watched as they divided up the bags between them and started running as fast as they could down the street. She ducked behind a mailbox, unsure what was happening but knowing it couldn't be good.

The group did not get far, however. As soon as they were halfway down the street, a second arrow flew through the air and sent a bag spiraling out of one of the thieves' hands, its contents spilling all over the pavement. Silver and copper antiques clunked as they hit the floor. Rubies, diamonds and emeralds glinted from the jewlery they were encrusted in and preservated gold pieces rolled down the street.

Terra's attention was driven from the antiques to the man, crouched between tree branches, who had shot the weapon. She recognized the blonde goatee sticking out of the shadow of the green hood straightaway. If the Robin Hood-esque outfit did not give his identity away, the green quiver attached to his back and the bow and arrow he was aligning did.

Terra's eyes widened and she immediately crouched closer to the ground. Wasn't Green Arrow from Star City? What was he doing on the other side of the country, in Opal City?

Green Arrow jumped down from the foliage and let a third arrow loose from his grip. It hit the ground just inches away from one of the criminals' feet and smoke burst from the arrowhead. It completely covered the entire area, clouding the view of the thieves and Terra. She could still hear the yelps and cries of a heavily one-sided brawl coming from within. When the smoke cleared, it was made obvious that Green Arrow hadn't been the one to take advantage of the darkness.

A blonde woman held two of the thieves by their collars before dropping them on the pavement, where another already lay unconscious. A fourth tried to sneak behind the heroine and catch her by surprise but she foresaw the attack and spun around, hitting the criminal in the jaw with a skilled palm strike. She was dressed in a skimpy black leotard with matching fishnet tights, the trademark look of the Black Canary.

"Nice one, babe!" Green Arrow hollered and Terra noticed he also had a thief in his custody. He turned his head and for just one brief moment, Terra thought he had seen her. '_Don't be ridiculous_,' she thought to herself, '_it's dark out and you're hiding behind a mailbox! How could he possibly see you?_' She could see his mask wrinkling as he squinted down the street. He pointed and yelled, "one of them is getting away!"

Under the glare of a streetlight, appeared a much smaller figure. "I got this one," the boy said with assurance. He was wearing a primarily red costume that shined under the bright light. The young redhead was wearing a red shirt adorned with a yellow belt and red tights. He was wearing yellow boots and thick gloves that came up halfway to his forearms. The boy's face was partly covered by a red eye-mask and a small yellow hat. He grabbed a trick arrow from his own quiver and shot it at the man. Mid-air, the arrowhead exploded and a big net flew out, trapping the thief to the ground.

The Emerald Archer pumped his fist in the air and roared, "yeah, that's my sidekick!"

Speedy adjusted his hat and tautly corrected his mentor, "_partner._"

Noticing that Green Arrow was about to retort, Black Canary put one hand on her fellow hero's shoulder and shot him a fierce glare. The blonde archer smiled sheepishly in response and pre-occupied himself by picking up a copper vase lying nearby. "Guys," Black Canary said while lifting one of the discarded bags over her shoulder, "let's make sure the thieves go into police custody before giving the museum back their artifacts, okay?"

Speedy grimaced and mumbled, "all right."

"The police is on their way?" Green Arrow asked, and Black Canary confirmed it with a nod. "Heh. I hope Starman doesn't mind us taking some heat off of him."

Terra slithered away as the two adults continued to converse. She felt something odd bubble away in her stomach and had to restrain the conflicting emotions making their way to her face. Black Canary and Green Arrow were renowned members of the Justice League of America, which in turn was perceived by many as the greatest super-heroic team in the world. To see them in action was incredible but it also reminded her of her own hindrance, and the reason she could never be like them.

As she trotted further and further away from the heroes, she felt the need of control rise up her body. Heaving a sigh, Terra activated her geokinesis and brought a boulder over to her sights. She jumped on and rose, flying away from the city lines, desperate for the next locale.

After a few weeks of heading east, Terra found herself in Gotham City.

* * *

Terra's vision blurred and she squinted her eyes, trying to make sense of what was ahead. She had been fighting back the urge to fall asleep, but the lack of nutrition in her system was making it hard to even stay on her feet as she walked down the dark streets of Gotham.

"Oof!"

"Sorry," Terra muttered to the blonde woman she had bumped into. The lady had also not been paying close attention to her surroundings, too occupied with talking on her phone and dragging her small son along behind her. With slight difficulty, Terra moved around the two and kept walking. She heard the little boy, younger than her by a few years, ask his mother curiously what was wrong with her.

"I don't know, Tim," the woman told him absentmindedly as she pocketed her cellphone and pulled her son closer to her. "There are many strange people in this part of Gotham."

Terra placed a clammy hand up to her forehead and groaned, feeling worse by the second. She could hear the departing footsteps as her knees buckled and she swaggered to the side of a nearby building. It wouldn't hurt to just sit down for a little while and recuperate her energy, she figured as she slid down to the ground. Her head immediately began to bob up and down everytime her eyes drooped. '_Just a little nap..._'

"Not a good idea, Blondie."

Terra squinted at the scruffy sneakers and raised her head until she was staring up at the face of a short, blonde teenage boy with fairly used clothing and eyes hidden behind reflector sunglasses. Terra rubbed one of her eyes and watched as her reflection did the same.

"Hnngh?" She asked, feeling awfully incoherent at the moment.

The young Gothamite smirked. "I wouldn't be lying around taking a nap if I was you. 'Specially round here."While his hovering presence was intimidating, she also felt oddly comforted.

Terra shrugged one shoulder. "I was just resting my feet for a second," she managed to say.

The boy continued to stare at her. "Do you even _know _where you are?"

"Uh- Gotham?"

"I meant what street you're on," the blond rolled his eyes, "you're in Crime worst of the worst that Gotham's got to offer hang out here. You think it's a good idea for you to be here at however late it is now?"

Terra felt a pang of annoyance as her head continued to throb and she stubbornly shot back, "well, you don't look that much older than me. What's your excuse?"

The boy scowled and pointed at himself defensively, "I'm _thirteen_! And I've got this little thing called street smarts. Meaning I'm not stupid enough to fall asleep in the most dangerous part of Gotham City!"

"Ooh, thirteen," mumbled Terra, "you must be so proud." She couldn't focus on what he was saying. She just wanted to sleep...she could feel her eyes growing heavy again.

The boy gave her a sour look. "I wuz just trying to help. No need to be a b-"

"Sylvester!" A chubby blonde girl was sprinting towards them, tripping over her impossibly long heels in the process. She looked much older than Terra, but it was possible that could have just appeared that way due to the large amount of makeup on her face. Unlike Sylvester, who was wearing casual clothing, she was dressed in a short skirt and a halter top that revealed her navel. Her face was smudged with thick mascara that rolled down her tear-stained cheeks. "Can I crash with you guys tonight?"

Sylvester grunted, "don't call me that, Lizzie. It's Sly. Do I look like a cat to you?" Lizzie hiccuped and mumbled a half-hearted apology before pleading with him again. "Whatever." Despite the apathetic tone, he looked her up and down curiously. "What happened to you? You look like a wreck."

"I went to find Howard," she explained in a stutter, "'cause it's gettin' late and I figured he was probably worried sick about me-"

"Lizzie," Sly shook his head, "I've told you. That guy is bad news. You should just stay with us."

Lizzie flinched at the accusation and shook her head rapidly, blonde ringlets flailing about. "No-no, he's not. He _loves _me. We just had a little fight, that's all...it was my fault." As an afterthought, she added, "and you know that I need the cash, for when the baby comes."

Terra's eyes snapped open as she gave Lizzie a double take.

"You don't need your _pimp_. I told you before that if money's what you need, all you gotta do is-"

Lizzie turned red and shrieked, "_Don't call him that!_ And I already told y'all no! I'm not getting involved with all of that! I don't want what happened to Mike to happen to me!"

That seemed to hit a nerve with Sylvester. "That was that idiot's own fault! Running into the street like some- it doesn't matter anymore. Just tell Pizza-Face that I said you could stay."

Lizzie frowned and hiccuped once more before submissively nodding and trudging away, leaving Terra alone with Sly.

Terra, now feeling uncomfortable, stood up."I'm, uh, I should go." She rose too quickly, making her head spin and see stars just before she collapsed for the second time that night.

"Psh. You try and you'll be on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper."

Terra glowered at him and stood up again, much slowly this time. "I'm fine..I...I just need to get some food and-"

"That's it?" Sly dug his hands in his pockets and motioned to his left with a jerk of his head, "then come on."

"I'm fine!" Terra repeated, raising her voice as her headache grew worse.

Sly lowered his sunglasses to the tip of his nose, revealing dark brown eyes. "Look," he said coldly, "I'm doing you a favour, okay? Even with Liz crashing with us, there's still room for you to chill for a while. We got food and beds and stuff, so c'mon." When he repositioned his sunglasses, her guilty expression blinked back at her.

"Oh." Terra squirmed and hesitated. "Well, uh, thanks but-"

"Your choice," the blonde boy shrugged.

Terra tucked her hair behind her earlobe and bit her lip. "I guess...I am kinda hungry."

"Cool. The name's Sly Johnson. Yours?"

"Terra. Just Terra," she introduced herself as she found herself following him. "Where are we going?"

Sylvester pointed at the end of the street, "just around the block."

They arrived a few minutes later at a beaten down house with graffiti sprayed on the side-wall, paint peeling off the door and many other quirks that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on their ends. Sly opened the front door without using a key and strode right in with Terra at his heels. Terra immediately had to resist the urge to gag, as the inside smelled like a combination of smoke and other narcotics.

"Yo, Arnie!" Sly crowed loudly towards the top of the stairs. A portly boy with scruffy brown hair and a striped shirt appeared and leaned over the railing. Sly asked him, "did it come yet?"

"Nope," Arnie shook his head, "not yet, Sly! It's bound to come soon though!"

"What'll come soon?"

"The bill for the house's rent. It's supposed to-" Arnie's small blue eyes focused on Terra, "wait a sec! You're new!"

"Noooo," Sylvester rolled his eyes, sarcasm dripping from his words, "never woulda figured."

Arnie blushed and bounded down to their level. "Nice to meet ya! My name's Arnie Petowski!"

"Uh," Terra waved at him awkwardly, "nice to meet you too?"

The chubby boy beamed and turned to Sly. "Who is she, Sylvester?"

"Sly," the blonde boy hissed, "get it right."

"Sorry."

"And she's some kid I found sleepin' outside. Didn't even know she was in crime alley."

"I'm still here, you know." Terra muttered, but was ignored by the blond boy.

"Did Liz come by?" Sly asked the overweight boy. "She got in a fight with _Howard _and needs a place to crash."

Arnie sighed. "Poor Lizzie. She came here in tears and I told her just to go room with Angeline. She's sleeping now."

Sly nodded and took out something box-shaped from his jacket pocket. "Any food left? Terra here's starving." Arnie nodded and both boys led Terra to a kitchen, which was practically empty except for a small mini-fridge in the corner and a few cupboards. Sly shoved a bag of chips at her and said, "you eat and then Arnie can show you around."

"What are you going do?" Terra questioned him, watching him fidget with the box in his hands.

"Have to talk to this guy about a cheaper deal on some stuff. Never you mind." Sylvester Johnson left through a back door that led outside, leaving Terra alone in the desecrated house with Arnie.

She smacked her head and groaned. How did she get in these situations? '_At least none of them are a vampire...I hope._'

Deciding to take advantage of the free food, Terra slowly reached into the plastic bag. She examined the chip before taking a bite out of it. As soon as it reached her taste buds, she plopped the remainder in her mouth. It tasted so good and it felt as though she hadn't eaten in such a long time.

"It's dill pickle!" Arnie's nasally voice came from beside the mini-fridge. "Sorry if Sly said anything bad to you. He likes to kid but sometimes, well, y'know. You want a tour of the house?"

"Um, sure. Thanks for letting me...eat here..."

"No problem," Arnie told her, "we kids got to stick together and stuff."

While they walked up the staircase, Terra asked him how they could afford the house. While it was clearly not that expensive, it still seemed too much for a group of children to afford, let alone be allowed to live in.

"The boss bought it for us. It's under his name and everything. We all pitch in to pay for the bill and the boss makes sure we can keep it." Arnie explained, as the steps creaked beneath their feet.

Terra nodded, not really bothering to question this any further. While she munched on the chips, Arnie walked her through every room in the house and even introduced her to the other kids. They all ranged from her age to their late teens, were from different nationalities and had different looks and styles. Arnie was really kind to her and at the end of the tour, he even let her choose her own room.

Yes, the house was dirty and crumbling from the inside out, and yes, she knew the implications of that strong odour of smoke...but they were offering her a home, and she had already made the mistake of declining such an offer before.

She set her giant blue backpack by the tattered bed and stared around at the unkempt room. She folded up the empty bag of dill pickle chips and tossed it carelessly to her side before sitting silently on the bed. Once, Terra would have found the mattress uncomfortable but now that she was used to sleeping in a cheap sleeping bag, the lumpy bed beneath her felt like it was heaven-sent.

Terra kicked off her hiking shoes and fell back, the back of her head hitting the thin pillow. Her eyes immediately shut and in seconds time, she was snoring heavily and her arms and legs were stretched out and hanging off the mattress.

Heaven-sent, indeed.

* * *

It was nighttime, the second night she had spent in that room, when she was awoken by the door swinging open with enough force to drive her out of her heavy slumber.

A silhouette stumbled to the ground, settling into a strange angle where their legs bent in an L-shape, their hips slightly twisted and one arm clutching their stomach. The figure was female and slightly familiar, hair tangled and curly and their free hand holding a bottle limply to their side.

"Lizzie?" Terra, still groggy, stood up and mumbled, "Lizzie, is that you?"

The figure brought the bottle to their mouth, feverishly gulping the drink down. "Yeah, it's me," came the slurred reply, "sorry, didn't mean tah wake y'all up."

"Are you okay?"

Lizzie groaned and mumbled, "Fuh-fine. Just fine."

Terra ran to the light-switch and turned it on, instantly illuminating the dark room and revealing Lizzie's sickly visage and bruised eye.

"By my cro-" she paused, flinching at the almost use of her brother's favourite catch-phrase. "What happened to _you_?"

"Nothing a little makeup won't fix," Lizzie said morosely. Terra tried to walk closer when Lizzie's grip on the bottle tightened and she moaned, "oh god, this isn't helping at all!" She threw the glass at the opposite wall, smashing it into pieces. "Oh god. Oh god. I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to." The blonde buried her face in her hands and began to cry.

Terra leaned down and patted her on the shoulder. "We can clean it up. It's okay."

"It's not that," Lizzie screeched, "it's everything! Oh god, I hate this! I hate Howard! I hate everyone in this house! I just HATE everything!" She resumed her sobbing, blubbering incoherent words. "...I just want to go back home..."

"I want to help you." Terra hesitated, never having been in this sort of situation before. "Just tell me what's going on."

It took several minutes for Lizzie to manage anything more than half a sentence. Terra occupied herself by sitting cross legged on the ground beside her, patting her back whenever the crying got stronger. Finally, the Gothamite rubbed her eyes and rasped, "Howard and I got into a big fight after I refused a client. H-he said he didn't need me anymore and then he," she sniffed, "he hit me and left me there. I know we've been having some problems but I never thought he would leave me like that."

"I'm sorry," Terra said simply.

"I shouldn't have gotten involved with that creep anyway," Lizzie sniveled bitterly, "he never cared about me. I just wanted someone to love me, like my dad did, like Robbie did." Terra opened her mouth to ask something when Lizzie quickly added, "Robbie was my boyfriend. He was my first serious boyfriend and he was the sweetest guy I'd ever met. We fooled around a little and I ended getting knocked up. Rob backed out and dumped me." Her lip trembled and Terra readied herself for more tears. "D-Daddy was so angry. He kicked me out when I said I didn't want an abortion or get married- I mean, I was only _sixteen_! That's -hnn- that's how I ended up turning tricks for H-Howard."

Terra could feel her own eyes began to swell up as the girl continued to sob. She shook herself out of it and said, "but the others...Sly is right, you should stay here with us. Anything's better than what Howard put you through."

A steely glint flashed in Lizzie's eyes. "God, Terra...you've only been here for what- a day? You have, like, no idea who these kids are. What they're really like. I'm not perfect. I've let myself be influenced by loads of people and I've done some pretty dumb stuff. But the kids here- they're just-" her knuckles balled into a tight fist, once again connected against her stomach, "-because of all of this...Mike Taylor is dead."

Terra gasped and her eyes grew two sizes larger. "By my crown! How did he- you know?"

"Your what?" Lizzie cocked an eyebrow. "Never mind- don't wanna know." She hiccuped softly and shifted slightly away from Terra. Lizzie pushed her ringlets out of her face and explained how Mike Taylor had been one of her first friends while on the streets. He had come from a wealthy and well-adjusted family, living happily in the suburbs. While most runaways had parents who cared too little, Mike's parents' fatal flaw was they cared too _much_. They put too much pressure on him and he snapped. His marks went down, he got in with a bad crowd and he ended up in that very house.

"And then he died..." Terra concluded, her voice drifting away.

"It was all too much for him," Lizzie continued, "he went crazy, always talkin' about bugs on his skin." She shuddered and tried to stand up, failing instantly. "Tried to mug this rich guy in line to see a musical or something but- but when the man wouldn't give him any money...Mike ran into the middle of the street and got hit. 'Ccording to the paper, he died on his way to the hospital."

Terra could imagine the entire tragic scene; the boy's frantic threats and pleading, the man's ardent refusal, the fear and disgust from the others in the crowd...the honking of the car as it tried to swerve, the shouts for the boy to move...

"I'm so sorry. I-I've never lost any one before. I don't know what you must be feeling." Terra's voice broke, shaken by her graphic imagination. "I don't know what to do."

The girl helped the young woman rise to her feet. "Just don't end up like them," Lizzie's tone was raspy and tired, "or me. If they tell y'all to do anythin', then don't do it." She stumbled over to the door and stared intently at Terra. "You gotta _promise_ me."

"Okay," Terra assured her, "I won't! I promise!"

Lizzie's shoulders loosened the tiniest bit and she reached for the light-switch when suddenly, she gasped and retracted it. "I almost, like, forgot we gotta clean the mess up." She pointed at the shards of brown glass around the pool of beer.

"Tomorrow," Terra suggested, "you better get some sleep."

"Yeah, okay." Lizzie looked like she was going to leave again when she turned shyly back at Terra. "Um, Terra? Do you believe in guardian angels or stuff like that?"

Terra's eyebrows furrowed, stumped by the question. Her family itself was very religious, but she had never really put too much focus on faith. "I guess so...why?"

"'Cause...after Howard left me...I-I dunno...I thought I saw somethin'. It was dark and cold so I can't be sure..."

"What did you see?"

"A-a girl...but she didn't look human. I didn't see her face 'cause it was covered by this white cloak but her skin was really pale, like, _not-human pale_. I could feel her eyes starin' at me and-and I don't know. It was creepy and all, but I felt really calm and then she was gone and I felt..._better_…" Lizzie chuckled half-heartily, "I probably sound crazy..."

"It's weird but who knows, right?" Terra said, shrugging her thin shoulders. "In a world where aliens and underwater cities are considered normal, angels can't be that far-fetched."

"'Maybe," Lizzie whispered hoarsely, "night, Terra. Thanks."

"You too," Terra said, "good night."

With a click, she was shrouded in darkness once again.

* * *

Lizzie left the week afterwards; she decided to go back home and attempt to make amends with her father. Terra had accompanied her to the bus, as did Arnie, Sly and a skinny brunette named Angeline. Terra had to restrain the urge to get on the bus with her.

"I'll be okay," Lizzie said, her hands digging into the thick sweater's pockets. Unlike their first encounter, Lizzie was dressed in jeans, a sweater and converse. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and her face was clear of any makeup. She looked younger and happier this way. "I've got a good feeling about this, y'all."

Arnie sniffed, "I'm gonna miss you, Lizzie."

"Me too, Arnie," Lizzie said, "I'm gonna miss everyone."

"I still think this a bad idea," Sly said, his arms crossed together. Lizzie beamed at him and enveloped him in a tight hug. "Lemme go!"

"Take care, Sly," Lizzie giggled, "I'm gonna miss you the most."

She let him go and he tried to re-compose himself. "Yeah, whatever." He glanced down at his feet. "Good luck, Liz."

Terra watched as she said good-bye to Arnie and Angeline, and then turn to her.

"Just remember your promise."

The four pre-teens waved as the bus drove away, and once it was out of sight, turned back in the direction of the house.

As the three others chatted, Terra couldn't help but think of her own family. She took off her butterfly clip and stared at it sadly; what was Brion doing now? What about Gregor? Her father? Her mother? She slid her clip back into her hair and followed the others into her new home.

Kids came and went as they pleased so Terra had trouble memorizing any were a few consistent faces, like Sly and Arnie, or Angeline Carow and Luis Gonzalez, who made the house their permanent home. With Sly's consent, Terra decided to remain for the time being.

She knew all of the street kids shared a similar trait: they were all in trouble. Some were confused, others afraid, some were too impulsive or believed themselves immortal, and there were the few that acted as though they felt nothing at all. Nothing but hate, that is. Some had been innocent (or ignorant) when they first found themselves homeless, but now they were all hardened by the things they'd seen on the merciless alleyways of night-time Gotham.

A part of her was afraid of them, especially when she saw them as what the streets had made them. She avoided them when they were intoxicated or worse, and the echo of her promise to Lizzie kept her from accepting anything the others offered her, no matter how tempting it seemed.

Excluding those moments, however, Terra found herself getting closer to the others. She barely even registered the fact that she was starting to act more like them. They brought out a part of her that she had very rarely been allowed to let loose in the castle, becoming outgoing and loud and completely disregarding all rules she had learnt as a princess. Her sense of survival had taken precedence over her polite upbringing during her journey through France, England and now America. She was learning the norms of Gotham City from the inside out, unwittingly researching how to become a new person.

* * *

Terra was sitting down on the musty couch in the living room, watching Sly whistle to himself as he whittled a stick into the shape of a sharp looking stake. She was sharing the leftover's from last night's pizza dinner with Arnie and was feeling very bored.

Arnie grabbed what was left of a pepperoni slice and whined, "I'm still hungry. Do any of you have any cash left?"

"Nope," Sly shook his head, "spent it on this month's rent."

"Broke," Terra lied, raising her arms in the air. Truth be told, she still had money left but she felt scared using it for her own purposes, let alone anyone else.

"'Bout that," Sly rose from his chair and jabbed the stake in Terra's direction, "we gotta do something 'bout you. The boss won't let you stay here much longer if you don't start chippin' in during rent."

"Aw, c'mon, it's not her fault," Arnie tried to defend Terra.

Sly shrugged, "she still has to pull her own weight 'round here. Hmm, maybe-"

"Pay attention, kiddies!" Luis and Angeline came through the front door. The former smirked at the younger kids and waved an envelope in their faces. "This just came for us. We got a job tonight!"

"Another job?" Terra asked curiously. She had been in Gotham for over three months and had noticed they always spoke about 'jobs' and getting paid, but none of them wanted to explain it to her. Arnie told her the others wanted to see if she was trustworthy enough, but they would eventually let her in on the assignments.

"Yeah," Angeline said, "it's at the marina, near the Bludhaven border. We already got a few other kids coming but according to the note, it's a big delivery so everything has to be shush-shush. You guys in?"

Sly read over the note and nodded, "if the boss needs us, we're in. Hey Tee, looks like we've got an answer to your money troubles."

Terra jumped off the sofa. "I don't know, Sly. Not that I'm not glad you guys are finally inviting me along on one of your 'jobs' but I'd like a little bit more information before I do anything. What exactly is this delivery for?"

Sly shoved the note into her hands and she read over it, her eyes widening at the details. "No way! This is so wrong! We could get arrested for doing this!"

Sly narrowed his eyes for a second before bursting into laughter. "Man, Tee, you're a riot! I almost thought you were serious! You should be an actress!"

"I _am _serious, Sly!" Terra crossed her arms. "I'm not doing this and neither should you!"

Luis glowered at her. "What's with the sudden 'do what's right' act, Terra? You don't say anything when we drink or smoke or- what, is that different?"

"Yes! No! I-" she pouted and crossed her arms, "fine, do whatever you want! I don't care."

Sly guffawed and put his arm around the younger girl, "that's more like it, Terra." Turning to the two arrivals, he added, "don't you guys remember your first runs? She's just a little nervous, s'all. We'll all be there."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm here," Terra said through chattering teeth. It was autumn and since they were so near the water, the temperature around them was very low.

"It's not so bad, Terra," Arnie said optimistically, "we do this all the time and nothing goes wrong."

Terra played the zipper on her jacket and stared around at the bay. They were standing in a crowd in front of the docks, where two medium sized boats were anchored. The sky was dark, and the smog in the air clouded any stars that might have brightened the night. There were about fifteen other people, all ages ten to twenty, huddled around talking to one another. In front of them, there was a small area that could double as a stage if one saw fit. Judging from the heavy-set man making his way to the front, that was indeed its purpose. The black-suited man was accompanied by three body-guards and two accomplices. He climbed onto the self-made stage and called for attention.

The kids immediately stopped talking and gave the man their absolute attention. Terra wondered if this was the infamous 'boss' that had given them the house. He cleared his throat and shouted in a deep baritone, "you all know what you're doing here but I want you kids to understand me. This isn't no game we're playing here. It's a job. You do what I tell you and in three hours, you each make a c-note." Sly nudged Terra on the side as the man continued. "One hundred bucks for one night. Not bad. You try to run, or you try to steal the packages, or do anything just a little bit wrong- you're dead meat hanging on a hook in some god-forsaken morgue. It's not hard. You're not gonna get caught. You're just delivering a...present. Each of you to a different address."

"See," Sly whispered in her ear, "toldja you were overreacting."

"Hmm," Terra mumbled in an un-committed manner.

"You each got an address, right? No one talks to anyone else. You don't show your address to the kid next to you. That way if there's trouble, you can say you don't know nothing and you'd be telling the truth. Then the cops won't hold you, right? You'll be free, right?"

"Right," came the stereo response from the crowd.

"Good. Everyone line up. You get fifteen bags each." At his command, a group of workers began to unload giant crates from the ship and into the dock while the children formed a long, straight line to the stage.

Terra was in the middle, in front of Angeline and behind Arnie. She took a gulp of cold air, knowing she couldn't back out of this now. She couldn't even use her powers, since they were not near any rock. Where were the superheroes when you needed them?

One worker opened the first crate with a crane and reached over to grab what was inside. As if answering her pleas, a strangely shaped object was hurled at the group, sticking to the top of the crate. Terra leaned in, looking over Arnie's shoulder, and saw the black design that slightly resembled..._wings_?

"Sorry, boss-man. We can't let you do that." Terra flipped around, as did the rest of the group, staring in awe as two figures swung down from above. The speaker was a young woman with curly red hair. She wearing a black spandex full-body suit, adorned with a golden utility belt with a bat emblem on the buckle; the same logo that was printed across her chest. She had on sleek yellow boots with tiny heels and long gloves with three spikes accenting the arms. Her face was covered by a combination of a blue cowl and cape.

Terra's eyes wavered on the pointy bat-shaped ears on top of her head. "It's Batgirl," Angeline whimpered from beside her, "it's _THE _Batgirl!"

"I know, I know," Batgirl said nonchalantly, "you were expecting someone a little bit taller and little bit broader?"

"Sadly, Batman is away dealing with JLA business," the boy at her side added, "but I hope we don't disappoint."

Angeline gripped Arnie's arm tighter and huddled closer to him and Terra. "And Robin! Ooh, this is bad!"

Robin was closer to Terra's age than his female counterpart. She seemed to be at least sixteen, while he was probably just a year older than the geomancer. Of course, it was hard to be sure with the mask covering his face. He was wearing a bright uniform consisting of a red tunic with short green sleeves, a black patch on his chest with a bright yellow R symbol and a black belt with the same insignia on the buckle. He was wearing brief-styled shorts that were decorated with faux green scales that left his legs bare for the world to see. Green gloves went up to his fore-arms and pixie boots of the same colour were on his feet. Attached to his tunic was a long yellow cape, which at the moment, was wrapped around him, mimicking Batman's style. His dark hair was styled neatly with what looked like a large quantity of hair-gel and two spit-curls framing his slightly round face.

"Step away from the crates and things won't get ugly," Robin warned with a light smirk on his face. He gave the boss a once-over and laughed, "well, it can't get any uglier."

The boss scowled, "you think you can scare us, kid?" He pointed at the two young vigilantes and shouted, "SHOOT THEM NOW!" It took a moment, but his accomplices opened fire on the sidekicks.

"Why don't they ever listen?"Batgirl sighed as she ducked a few bullets and started running towards the adults.

The kids began to scream, run and hide, in fear that they would be caught in the crossfire. Terra could feel someone tugging at her sleeve, and began to sprint after them while looking over her shoulder at the fight.

Batgirl's moves were good, although not as fluid as her partner's, who moved with acrobatic skill. Batgirl seemed focused on beating the henchmen as quick as possible, although it was apparent she was also getting a thrill from the fight. Robin, on the other hand, seemed to be playing with the criminals. She could hear him make pun after pun over the sound of gunshots, and that grin had not evaporated from view.

Not seeing where she was running, she tripped over a piece of garbage, left behind by some litterbug. Her ankle twisted into an uncomfortable position, and she sprawled over the dock; her knee red and her ankle aching with pain.

"Guys," she called to her housemates- her _friends_- "help me!"

Luis and Sly were already out of sight, more preoccupied with their own well-being than anything else. Angeline, her light brown hair bobbing up and down in its high pony-tail, kept running, only offering Terra a glance of fear. Only Arnie stopped for a brief second, before noticing the danger of stalling and continuing on.

She propped her arms up and was about to rise when she heard something slam into something hard behind her. A brief second later, she felt something fall on her. She keeled over from the immense weight, shreiking in pain, and the last thing she heard before losing consciousness was a young male voice shouting:

"Holy dominoes, Batgirl!"

* * *

She awoke with her head buzzing and her ears ringing. "What-ugh, where am I?" Her vision cleared and she found herself face to face with Robin's eye-less mask. Her cheeks flushed and she gasped, "you-I- what happened?"

Robin was kneeling at her side, his cape billowing in the breeze as he stared aloofly at her. "Batgirl threw one of the henchmen at a stack of crates. The force made them topple over and you were on the other side. Are you okay?" His voice was soft, and retained a light cheer despite the situation.

"Ask me again when the world stops spinning."

"You might have a concussion. When Batgirl comes back, we can take you to the hospital." She felt the back of his hand rise her head slightly, in order to keep it elevated. "Do you mind if I hold your head while we wait? It will help."

She felt heat surround her face again. "No, uh, go ahead." Her eyes darted around the abandoned marina and she wondered how long she had been out of it. "Robin, what happened to everyone else?"

"Batgirl's helping the police arrest the drug traffickers and dealing with the kids we managed to find," The Boy Wonder explained, and Terra couldn't help but notice that his cheeks reddened at the mention of his female partner. "I don't know where everyone who managed to escape is, though."

"Oh. I see."

"How did you get mixed up in the ring?"

"My friends," she replied weakly, and before she could stop herself, she added, "I told them not to come but they never listen."

"They don't sound like much friends to me- if they forced you to do something illegal."

"They're not bad people! Sly's just proud and _desperate _and Arnie doesn't know any better. I can vouch for them!"

"Sly? As in sly as a fox?" Robin chuckled at his own pun, causing Terra to roll her eyes.

"I wouldn't be making fun, _Robin_." He grimaced and she smirked at him. "Sly is short for Sylvester, so I think you can understand his problem."

Robin laughed and she felt her cheeks tingle for the second time. "But what if they managed to escape?" The brightly costumed boy queried, suddenly serious again. "And I took you to the commissioner? Would they try and help you then?"

"Shut up," she hissed, ignoring the distinct feeling of deja-vu, "it's not-"

Robin put his free hand up in defense. "Whoa, don't get so defensive. Look, you're what...ten, eleven, twelve?"

"Turning twelve in a month," Terra told him automatically.

"The point is I don't like seeing kids my age on the wrong side of the law. I don't want _you _or your friends to end up in prison. So, what if I make you a deal?"

"I don't know..."

"Sometimes you have to do what's best for you. You might think these kids are your friends, but they're only bringing you down with them. You should leave all of this behind. Go home, get help, something."

"What are you? My mother?" Terra scoffed, but avoided his gaze. She knew he was right. She shouldn't have been at the docks in the first place, and Lizzie had warned her about the dangers of staying when she first got involved with the Gothamite street kids.

"Just think about it."

They were silent for a few moments before terra shifted her weight and hissed at him through the pain, "must be a tough job. Fighting crime, being in danger every day." She glanced up at his mask, "does Batman know there's a law against child endangerment?"

Robin grinned but ignored the joke about Batman, choosing instead to answer her first query. "It is. It's pretty rewarding though, doing good."

Terra swished a flyaway piece of hair out of her left eye and considered his answer as the two proceeded to wait for Batgirl's return.

* * *

**How I wish to cross over with Marvel and have Terra meet the Runaways- a team of kids who ran away from home after finding out their parents were super-villains planning to destroy the world. I'm hooked on them at the moment. Oh, my friend found an old Titans comic at a used book store for 99 cents and bought it for me! =D I also read Teen Titans #88...and it was the best we've seen from the main title in a long time. Fresh with tons of potential, plus all the characters are in-character! The interior art is so pretty too (despite the fact that I still have a problem with Bart and Gar's appearances); Nicola Scott makes everything vibrant and lovely and she pays such attention to detail. **

**[1] I used the early versions of Robin and Speedy! All the way down to their original costumes! xD Also, Terra ran into little Tim Drake and his mom! *cries* Since Tim WON'T be the Robin in the Young Justice cartoon...why isn't he in cartoon again? OR Bart? *grumbles* I want an animated Bart Allen! *goes pouts in a corner* **

**[2] The Gothamites that appear in this chapter are actually modelled after the runaways that were featured in the 'New Teen Titans' run in the eighties. Actually, the first issue that the runaways appeared in was also the issue that introduced Terra in a separate subplot. I thought it would be cool to incorporate them somehow. And I hope you enjoyed (or noticed) Raven's little cameo. I just _loved _how she and Vic helped Lizzie in the issues. That's also why I put Roy in, since he was particularly AWESOME in that arc.**

**[3] Speaking of, the 'dock' scene is inspired by those very same issues, and the majority of the boss' dialogue was written by Marv Wolfman. **


	15. Chapter Thirteen: Gotham Hospital

_Disclaimer: I'm getting 'whelmed' by having to think of a different disclaimer per chapter! Why is it so hard to remember that I don't own the Teen Titans? It all belongs to DC Comics, Warner Brothers and Cartoon Network! Plus, all the writers and artists who have actually been involved with them. _

**Author's Note: Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg! The Bat-mobile lost its wheel and the Joker got awaaaaaa-aaaay! Hey, wait a minute...it's not Christmas! I mean, Americans just had Thanksgiving! Batman doesn't even appear in this chapter! Robin does though, as does Batgirl! **

**To deweydandelion5: Hey, I can't reply to your reviews or PMs because you've disabled the feature...or at least that's what pops up everytime I try to message you lol.**

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* * *

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Upon Batgirl's arrival, the two young vigilantes went over all of the arrests and injuries. Batgirl finished telling Robin about how the Commissioner of Police had information regarding the drug ring and the younger hero shook himself out of his enraptured thoughts. He explained his worries about Terra's condition, to which Batgirl responded with a point to where she had just come from.

"The ambulance is already on its way," Batgirl informed him, "there were a few other kids with minor injuries. Nothing too serious but we thought it would be a good idea for a doctor to check them out."

Robin crossed his arms and glanced over at Terra, who was sitting down and leaning against one of the crates. The Boy Wonder had placed her there so he could talk more freely with his partner. "Should we bring her over there? If she has a concussion, making her move around wouldn't be the best idea."

Terra was, to her increasing frustration, getting used to people discussing her as though she wasn't there. She merely coughed and glared in their direction, her pounding head adding to her discomfort.

"It's not far." Batgirl motioned over to Terra and asked, "can you walk?"

Terra shimmied to her feet and winced when she put weight on her right foot. "My ankle," she hissed, crouching back down and massaging her swollen ankle. She moved her fingers up to her kneepad and felt the peeled skin from when she had tripped before. Any small traces of blood had dried and a scab was already beginning to form.

Robin ran up to her, his cape swishing around his bare legs. "Here, I'll help you." With her consent, he took her hand and placed it around his neck and put his other hand across her back. Limping all the way, Terra and Robin followed Batgirl to an open lot near the streets. There were a few police cars parked, and Terra could see ambulances making their way towards the area as well.

A few minutes later, she was being strapped on a gurney and a wide collar was being placed around her neck. 'Miss, this is merely precautionary," a paramedic clarified when Terra began to pull at the collar. She rolled Terra's gurney into an ambulance, where two other paramedics waited. The Bat-kids stayed behind to finish dealing with the police officers, but as the paramedics closed the back doors, she saw Robin give her a thumbs up from the corner of her eye.

'_That kid is really too happy for his own good_,' she thought endearingly. She liked his youthful exuberance and was surprised to see that one of the defenders of the most dangerous cities in the country was so joyful.

The trip to the hospital was bumpy and highly uncomfortable. Due to her inability to move around, both her legs and arms were beginning to go numb. The neck brace was itchy and made it so the only thing she could see was the dark roof of the vehicle. The paramedics hardly spoke to her too, so the only sound that met her ears was the ringing of the ambulance as it sped through the traffic.

Gotham City General Hospital was located in south-east Gotham, separated from the rest of the city. When they got there, they unloaded her from the back and wheeled her into the main building. She saw flashes of white as they rolled the gurney through the unnaturally sterile hallways and into an empty room. The paramedics informed her that she had to wait a while before a doctor would come in and take her to get x-rays done. They left almost immediately afterwards and Terra was left to her thoughts.

She had thought she had finally found a place to stay, with kids who shared her plights and understood her. She knew that they weren't the best influence -a view shared by Lizzie Angelo and Robin- but she had ignored that because they made her feel like she belonged. Over the past few months, she had begun to consider them her friends, especially Sly and Arnie. Yet, they deserted her when she needed help...she didn't have much personal experience when it came to friendship, but she knew that friends were people that one could depend on.

_"They don't sound like much friends to me- if they forced you to do something illegal."_

Why couldn't things be simple?

* * *

"...A small hematoma beneath the scalp. It's nothing too serious, and we've already had her put ice on the bump. She should be fine with a little bit of rest and medicine."

"I'm surprised she didn't suffer from more serious head trauma."

Terra felt a small buzzing in her head as she came to, and she could hear voices from her left. She recognized the young male voice as Robin's and after a moment, she remembered that the second voice belonged to her doctor.

"Anything else, Dr. Scott?" Robin asked, unaware that Terra had woken up.

"She seems to have a sprained ankle. Again, we have put a cold compress on the injury and wrapped up her ankle in a roll of elasticated bandages. The swelling will go down in a day or two as long as she keeps it elevated."

Terra slowly opened her eyes, and the blurred figures of the sidekick and the doctor came to view. She was about to make it known that she had awoken when the doctor spoke again.

"I'm surprised you're so interested in this girl's injuries, Robin. Do you know her?"

"No," Robin shook his head, "I just wanted to check on all the kids who got injured in the crossfire. I can't help but feel responsible whenever I see someone my age involved in these things. They deserve better." He walked towards the bed and asked, "did you find out her name yet?"

"She hasn't told us anything," the doctor replied, "no name, no address, nothing. Hopefully, we'll find out more about her when she wakes up. I'm sure it would be comforting for her family to know she was safe."

"If she's a runaway, she won't be eager to tell us where she's from."

"I know," Dr. Scott conceded. "If we can't return her to her family, then we will need to get child services involved-"

Terra squirmed and tensed up at the mention of her family. She blinked wearily, opened her mouth and groaned, hoping to make it sound as though she had just came to. Both Robin and Dr. Scott went to her side and the latter asked, "how are you feeling, Miss?"

"Better," Terra told him, "how long have I been asleep?"

The doctor checked his wristwatch. "It's nearly midnight so about five hours. Just relax, I'm going to go have a nurse bring you some Tylenol and water. Robin, can you watch her until my return?"

"Sure, Dr. Scott, but couldn't you get in trouble for that?"

"If Commissioner Gordon can give Batman some lee-way, I see no reason why I can't bend the rules for his sidekick."

Robin frowned briefly, but it went unnoticed by the doctor, who promptly closed the door behind him. Once they were alone, Robin turned to Terra. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"My head still hurts but not as badly as before," she assured him. "Is Batgirl here with you?"

"She's on patrol. With Batman away, we have to work harder to pull our weight. As soon as I finish checking up on all the victims, I have to patrol the streets for the rest of the night. Good thing it's not a school night."

"School?" Terra questioned, "you go to school?"

"I have to get my education from somewhere," Robin smirked, "what about you?"

"Not anymore," Terra muttered stiffly, "sorry, I guess I just assumed that superheroes didn't have to worry about that stuff. That you were Robin all the time, you know? Batman and Robin, defending the people of Gotham 24/7."

Robin looked dismayed at the comment and he stared seriously at his pixie boots. "Yeah," he mumbled, "_Batman and Robin_. That's me, all right." Shaking his head vigorously, he changed the subject. "Have you thought about what we talked about in the harbor?"

"I have...and you're right.' Terra took a deep breath. "Gotham's all wrong for me. I never wanted to do anything wrong but I just let the guys convince me to go along with it. The guys-" Remembering what he said about the other children, she added, "what happened to my friends? Do you know?"

Robin replied, "if you didn't see them before in the parking lot, then chances are they were the few who escaped." He gave her a specific look and opened his mouth to say something.

Terra panicked, thinking she knew where he was heading. She sat up and yelped, "I'm not going to rat them out!"

"Dr. Scott told you to rest," Robin tried to ease her back into the bed, "I wasn't going to ask you to turn against your friends. But it would help the doctors if you told them about yourself. Where do you live?"

She hesitated. "Nowhere."

"Is there any way to contact your parents...or guardian?"

"No," she sniffed, "I...don't have a family."

Robin eyed her sadly and Terra inhaled deeply; she should have known she was going to receive pity. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

"Just call me T-"

She was interrupted by Dr. Scott walking back in with a nurse. They handed her medicine and she quickly swallowed the pill while chugging the water. It had a bitter taste but she was too distracted to care. She stayed quiet as Dr. Scott chatted with Batman's charge, the latter who had forgotten to finish their conversation.

_'What did the doctor say before? If they couldn't get me to my family they would get child services involved? What if it's like the government or the Global Guardians? What would they do to me?'_

Eyes widening in fear and gears spinning madly in her head, Terra decided that there was no way she could stay here any longer. She needed to leave the hospital, the house, her fellow runaways, and Gotham behind.

* * *

When it had been hours since Robin and the doctors made their leave, Terra stirred from her feigned sleep.

She put on her shoes and slid out of the hospital bed. She winced at the pressure on her ankle as she paced up to the window. She was on the third floor and many feet off the ground, so she could not sneak out as easily as she had done when she ran away from the castle. She put a hand up the glass and squinted, hoping to see a rock or anything similar.

'_Nothing_,' she thought with was about to withdraw back to the bed when an idea hit her. Her eyes flashed yellow and she put her glowing hands up to the window. Down below, the pavement began to shake. A slab of gravel burst from the ground, leaving behind a flat circle of dirt. It floated up to her level and stopped in front of her, waiting silently for her to make her next move. Terra reached for the window sill and pulled it open. It was a tight fit but she managed to squeeze out. She lost her footing and squealed, managing to grab the side of the pavement and pull herself up. The breeze hit her face as she spiraled to the ground and started running.

* * *

An hour later, she was in front of the house that she had made her home for the past three months. She walked through the front door, and took a deep breath. She was used to the smell of cigarette smoke now, but her nose still twitched at the scent. She could hear voices upstairs, and she briefly wondered which kids were there at the moment.

She walked up the staircase and down the hallway to her room. As she was opening the front door, she heard steps from behind her and Arnie's voice gasp. "Terra! You're okay!"

Terra blinked and glanced at Arnie through blank eyes. He looked the same as ever, but something about him made her stomach churn now. "Hi, Arnie. Did the others make their way back?"

"Yeah, but what about you? Last time we saw you, you were..." he trailed off, looking guilty.

"I was taken to the hospital and just managed to sneak out," she told him briskly, walking into the room. Terra rushed to the drawers and started throwing all her clothes on her bed.

"Whoa! How did you-" his small eyes widened as he registered her actions, "Terra, what are you doing?"

She stopped and, without looking at Arnie, replied, "I'm leaving."

"Oh! When will you be back?"

"I'm not," she said, leaning down and dragging her blue camp bag over to her bed so she could begin packing. "I just don't think I can stay here anymore."

"But you can't leave!" His sad tone nearly made her reconsider her decision but she willed herself to continue. "I'm sorry about leaving you! I got scared! C'mon, Terra, you can't go! First Lizzie and now you?"

"I'm sorry," she said softly as she shoved a shirt into the depths of her bag. "It's not just because of last night. I need to move on and see new things." It wasn't a completely lie so it wasn't as hard to say it.

"Are you going back to your parents?" He said the final word with bitterness.

"No," she responded simply, "I don't know where I'm going."

Terra finished packing her things and then walked back down to the first floor, only sparing Arnie and Sly with proper good-byes. She was sure they would be the only ones to miss her, in any case. Arnie had surprised her when he ran into the kitchen and back, carrying a big plastic bag full of food. He told her he didn't want her to get hungry on her journey and that he packed all his favourites. Touched by the sentiment, she accepted the rations and went on her way.

She stopped a few feet away from the house and looked back, almost nostalgically. She remembered celebrating her twelfth birthday with a party and cake for the first time in years. She recalled tagging the first letter of her name in red graffiti on the side of the house. She thought of all the memories she had gained during her stay and then turned and began walking again, not giving the ruin another thought.

Robin was right that she needed to get out of Gotham, but she had no idea where to go. She knew the closest city was Bludhaven but what Angeline and Sly (both natives from the neighbouring city) had told her about it, it was no better than Gotham in nature. Still, it wasn't as if she was planning to stay in Bludhaven.

She turned another corner.

* * *

Bludhaven was both much worse and much better than Gotham City. It was difficult to compare the cities as both tended to show the scary, yet more realistic, side of western civilization. She could, however, feel a difference between the conurbation- Bludhaven was smaller than Gotham and while the latter's seedier characters would come out full force when the sun set, Bludhaven's corrupted authority allowed their criminals to operate more freely. She briefly wondered why the 'Haven had no vigilante to patrol their tagged street corners and dodgy alleyways.

Still buzzed from her journey, Terra decided to follow Robin's advice and dash through the city without making any stops. She was sure she would be able to find an empty cave or somewhere else to rest outside the borderlines. Terra ignored what was happening around her as she sprinted through the busy crowds. It took a full day but Terra finally reached the outskirts of the former whaling town.

She saw a small building with lit up letters advertising their entrance. It looked homey, as did its name 'Brenda's Café', despite being so near to the cesspool that was Bludhaven. Only three cars littered the parking lot but that was enough for Terra to guess that the small café was open.

Avoiding eye contact with the few people inside, Terra cautiously walked in and slid into an empty table near the front floor. She unzipped her backpack and took out two things; her rolled-up bag of rations and a map of the United States. She had bought it at a souvenir shop in the Gotham City Mall a month prior. Her hand rustled around the plastic bag before taking out an energy bar to snack on. Unfolding the map carefully, she spread it out over the table.

"Bludhaven...Bludhaven...there!"

She jabbed the small print with her index finger and then scanned the surroundings. What she lacked was a destination, so it was difficult to pinpoint where she wanted to go. No particular place drew her eye so, with a resigned sigh, she decided that her best course of action would be to do one thing: head west. She was on the far end of the country, and nothing was holding her there. Besides, she tried to think positively, hadn't she always wished for an adventure? What was better than a cross-country trip?

"Excuse me, miss..." a thin twenty-something girl dressed in a waitress uniform walked up to her table. She looked surprised upon seeing Terra close up, which the young runaway knew had something to do with her age. "Um..." the waitress faltered, "what would you like to order?"

"Nothing, thanks."

The woman clicked her pen with her thumb, and with hints of a guilty yet curious expression, explained, "we don't allow soliciting here, Miss. We're going to have to ask you to buy something or leave."

"I didn't know." Terra explained truthfully, "I'll go."

Putting her things back into her bag, Terra stood back up and started heading for the door. She felt the woman's eyes glued to her back, but she had already accustomed herself to the curious gaze of adults, all who wondered what exactly what her story was. She unwrapped her energy bar and munched on it as she continued to walk. Once she was sure that she was out of Bludhaven, she would find a place to set up camp before heading towards Atlanta the next morning.

It was a vague plan, she figured, but a plan nonetheless.

* * *

**Who saw the Young Justice premiere? It was awesome! Check it out!**** Oh, I'm hoping we'll see a lot of the other Titans and Young Justicers in time! I would die if Vic, Kory, Raven or Gar appeared in an episode! AND OMG! A Superboy/Miss Martian relationship? This is actually a popular crack ship in the comic fandom and I admit that it's grown on me but WHOA! Did not see that coming!...I think I'm going to like this! :D**

**Teen Titans #89 was good too. Raven had a shining moment, Rose/Bart is still cute, Damian continues to be a foil for the team and we got introduced to Kiran aka Solstice, a Titan-to-be! She's going to be somehow involved in the Raven/Gar relationship so I'm freaking out a little.**

**[1] If any of you think Robin is acting too...cheerful and carefree, remember that this is Dick Grayson's original personality. When he joined the Titans, he got more serious and stressed...but he kept the bad puns and sense of humour. Sigh, it is fun to revisit the colourful young acrobat who was the ying to Batman's yang.**

**[2] Bludhaven was the setting of the majority of the Nightwing comic books and was protected by Nightwing for years. This is (obviously) before that happened, as Dick is still Robin.**


	16. Chapter Fourteen: Speed Dating

_Disclaimer: Heroes, criminals, locations in this chapter; all created and owned by people who aren't me._

**Author's Note: I've been waiting for this chapter since I first started planning this fanfiction. It includes one of the first scenes I imagined, that I knew I needed to write no matter what. Therefore, another Teen Titan guest star will be appearing in this chapter! At this rate, I'm going to run out of sidekicks!**

**Btw. My friend chewed me out because I told her I shipped Gar with Kitty Pryde from Marvel's X-Men.**

***crickets chirping***

**What? Its called multi-shipping! And psh, read the Uncanny X-Men/New Teen Titans crossover and deny the cuteness that was Gar/Kitty! I dare you!**

**

* * *

**

As predicted, the injuries she retained from Gotham healed in days. She had gone to a pharmacy and bought a box of Tylenol, which she used in accordance to the instructions. She also stalled in a small town for a few days so she didn't have to put so much pressure on her ankle. When the pain and swelling finally went down, she felt refreshed enough to continue on the road. Nothing eventful happened to her in the months passing. She was used to living sparsely, so she did not fuss when she noticed she was out of Arnie's rations, or when the cool weather became frostier and she had to dig up the bulky outdoor clothing she had used some of her money on the previous year.

Terra slowly made her way through the states. She exercised her powers by helping people here and there, but was very careful not to exert herself with too big of a crime. She paid attention to the dates and events by reading any discarded newspapers she could find. It was this way that she knew when her thirteenth birthday was. She spent the day treating herself to cake, and all evening cuddled up in her sleeping bag and staring up at the undisturbed starry night.

Terra had recently arrived in Kansas, or to be more exact, in the wonderfully vibrant city called Keystone. The brother of the larger Central City across the Mississippi river, the urban hovel was known to be the center of many industrial enterprises. Everyone seemed to know and care about one another and the entire city seemed to radiate hospitality and kindness. It also was, if the many merchandise and banners were any indication, a proud place that adored the hero that was known far and wide as the Flash. Even the cities' rogues, who constantly tried to best him at every chance they got, respected the red and yellow blur as much as his grateful fans.

Most notably to Terra, The Flash had a sidekick: a youngster her age who went by the moniker of Kid Flash. She had seen the lightning-fast duo run by multiple times but only once had she actually been able to see them- for about five seconds before they were gone again.

* * *

Terra shivered as she trudged through shoveled-up path of Klington Memorial Park. She had woken up that morning in her current dwelling, a small and isolated cove in a nearby forest, feeling chillier than usual. Unable to stand the cold any longer, she decided that a trip to the mall would perk up her mood and warm her up. She comforted herself with the sad fact that her first white winter had been much worse. Since Markovia's weather was usually limited to rain and sun even during the coldest months of the year, she had not been prepared for France's snowy winter. She shivered again, this time due to the less than pleasurable memories. Since then, she made certain to be ready for the frigid temperatures that plagued most countries in those few months.

Terra had been living in Keystone City for three weeks now, and the original feeling of cheer it exuded had not worn off. She pressed her chapped lips together and passed by a bare tree that was greying with frost. It would have made a beautiful photograph, the types she'd seen on postcards in souvenir shops. Terra sighed, and watched as a cloud of mist escaped her mouth.

"Oh my god!" The high-pitched squeal caused Terra to flinch. Two girls, not much older than she was, were huddled together with another person. The girls both had brown hair and were wearing sleek and expensive winter jackets that looked very unpractical. They were chatting loudly and when they moved slightly to the left, Terra could see who they were speaking to. Terra's clunky boots stopped mid-step as she stared at the boy who had donned a yellow spandex body suit with a red lightning bolt emblem on his chest. He was wearing a yellow mask that covered most of his face, except for his blue eyes and ruffled red hair. On each side of his head, little wings decorated the cowl just over his ears.

"Here you go!" Kid Flash handed the brunettes a small notebook and a pen. "An autograph signed by yours truly!"

One of the girls giggled and wrapped her arm around the speedster's elbow. "Can we have a picture with you too, Kid Flash?" She fluttered her eyelids rapidly and pulled tighter on his arm.

Kid Flash grinned at the fan and nodded, while running a gloved hand through his hair. The second girl looked around wildly before her eyes locked with Terra's. She ran over, waving a camera over her head.

"Excuse me," she asked loudly, "would you, like, mind taking a picture of us?"

Terra shrugged and the girl handed her the camera. The two walked back to the others, and Terra positioned the camera in front of her face. "So, do I just press the button and-" She was cut off by another squeal, as the girl joined her friend in attaching themselves to the young hero.

"Say cheese!" Kid Flash exclaimed as the flash went off. The girls immediately began to titter again and grabbed the camera from her, examining the picture. Satisfied with how it turned out, they started back to the trail, shouting their good-byes to the sidekick while waving flirtatiously at him.

"Always a pleasure to meet my fans," Kid Flash called out after them. When they were a few miles away, he flipped around and accidentally nudged into Terra. "Oh, sorry. I may be super-fast but I'm not always super-careful."

"It's okay," she remarked, pulling down her fur-lined hood. She watched the specks of the now far-away girls and let out a low chuckle. "They were something, huh?"

"They're not the worst I've seen, believe me," the speedster said, circling his ear with his index finger a few times. As the light moment passed, Terra half-expected him to announce his departure to fight the Mirror Master or whoever it was this week. Instead, he raised his hand up for a shake and said, "hey, I'm- well, you probably know that already."

Terra stuck one of her hands out of her pockets and shook back.

"Kid Flash," she recited, "sidekick of the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive."

"Just call me the Fastest Boy Alive," he winked at her, and she was not sure whether to roll her eyes or smile.

Terra pointed at herself. "My name's Terra."

"Like the Earth?" Kid Flash queried. "Nice name for a nice girl."

"Are you stuck in flirting mode or something?" A grin was playing on her lips now.

Kid Flash blinked twice, then replied cheekily. "Just part of my charm."

Terra suddenly felt her stomach rumble, and surprisingly heard Kid Flash's belly follow in her lead. Terra pressed one hand to her stomach and moaned, "I am _starving_!"

"That makes two of us," Kid Flash said, mimicking her action. "my metabolism is much faster than a regular person's. I usually need to eat around ten full course meals per day!"

"Wow," she whistled under her breath, "and I thought I ate a lot."

Kid Flash's stomach roared again but he ignored it, his blue-eyed gaze darting over to her bag. "What's with the giant backpack? A little cold for camping, isn't it?"

"I like to think of it more as an adventure," she succeeded in smirking confidently, "seeing the world and all that. No matter the weather and no matter the cost."

"Most girls I know hate that sort of thing," Kid Flash commented, clearly impressed.

"It usually _rocks_, no pun intended," Terra told him, "but sometimes I have problems getting a nice meal. I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon."

Kid Flash looked astounded that someone could stand living without food for even a day so he pointed at himself. "As resident hero of the fine people of Keystone and Central cities, I will save you from this horrible dilemma."

"How?" She had to admit she was curious, if a little hesitant.

"Well, weary traveller..." Kid Flash was suddenly on her other side. "What do you say to dinner at the best all-you-can-eat buffet in town? My treat?"

"You want to have dinner with a stranger you just met less than five minutes ago?"

The speedster did not seem perturbed by this. "I'm an excellent judge of character and right now, I can judge that your character is hungry enough to eat my aunt's veggie chowder." He leaned closer and whispered, "my aunt's cooking, between you and me, is on par with airplane food."

Terra did not understand the joke, never having eaten airplane food. She rubbed her gloved hands together, thinking silently for a moment. "I guess dinner wouldn't be so bad..."

"Awesome," Kid Flash whooped. In a moment, he had left and come back, now leaning up against the frosted tree. "I just made the reservations," he explained, "tonight at six at the _Appetizer_. It's on Corbin Avenue; you can't miss it. I'll be the handsome speedster in yellow and red." With one last wink, he vanished in a gust of wind.

Terra pulled her hood back up and followed the trail out of the park. She could feel it getting colder and thankfully, the shopping mall was heated. Her stomach whimpered, and a distant voice in her head began to impatiently complain that the coming evening was so long away.

Terra stopped in her tracks..."By my crown, what just happened?"

* * *

She had no idea what she was doing. That was what Terra told herself as she stared up at the street sign. Why had she agreed to this? What was _this_? Kid Flash must have had some ulterior motive for offering to treat her to dinner. Perhaps he had a connection to the Global Guardians and had heard about her that way? Or was this some sort of courtship-date thing? She had no past experience when it came to romance- her family not even being one to arrange a marriage. She had no idea what to think about that possibility. The part of her that was excited attempted to veto all her worries. If he planned to capture her, why would he have asked her to meet him in a public place? Besides that, there wasn't much to worry about. Kid Flash was a hero, for crying out loud!

She considered not going but her hunger proved stronger than her worry or pride. Entering the small restaurant, she shed off her mittens and lowered her hood. Her cheeks and ears tingled as they made contact with the warm air in the building and she walked up to the hostess. "Um, I'm supposed to meet Kid Flash here?"

The hostess immediately straightened up at the word 'Flash' and said, "oh yes. The little darling has reservations for two. Sorry to say he's not here yet but I can show you to your table!"

A waiter led her to a cubicle table with plush leather seating, that looked big enough to fit a small group. Terra slid into one side, unzipped her jacket and dropped it beside her. She saw a clock hanging over the back door and noted it was five minutes past six. She was about to open the sheet of paper that was the menu when Kid Flash, still in his costume, appeared across from her.

"Did I scare you?"

It took a minute for Terra to reply and Kid Flash seemed amused by her shocked facial expression. "Just surprised me," she pretended to chastise him, "I would have thought the 'fastest boy alive' would have been on time!"

The speedster chuckled, and mumbled something fast and incoherent under his breath. He picked up his own menu and sped through the names and prices before glancing over at her. "Are you going to order?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, it's your money." Terra folded the edge of the menu into a crooked obtuse triangle.

"Don't worry about it," the boy across from her said, "it's all you can eat for twenty bucks a person. Hey, what do you think I should get for starters? The rice or the salad? I know, both- with extra croutons!"

Terra couldn't help but grin as she went over the menu. Ten minutes later, their table was completely covered by plates and food, and the two kids were eating to their heart's content.

Kid Flash looked up from whatever it was he was eating- "I give it a seven. Too much salt." Terra nodded and went back to practically swallowing down her large plate of fries. Her elbows were rested on the table and a small amount of ketchup was dribbling down her chin.

"Miff goof!" Terra exclaimed through puffed cheeks. She hadn't had such delectable food in over a year. Swallowing down the chewed up mush, she pushed the plate away. "Solid eight," she announced firmly before grabbing another plate and its accompanied spoon. After a few more moments of eating, Kid Flash stared up at her again.

"I hope you don't see this as a _date_ or anything," Kid Flash blurted out, "you don't _seem_ like the stalker type who'll end up writing all about this on her blog but I can never be too sure."

Terra had almost forgotten her earlier doubts. It seemed as though Kid Flash had been worried that she was the one with ulterior motives. She decided to assure him otherwise with a small joke. "Nope. I'm just a hungry little street urchin taking advantage of you for free food."

"Well, that's a relief," the speedster sighed contentedly, knowing she was being factitious.

Terra furrowed her eyebrows, noting that it was her turn to sound suspicious. "Kid Flash? Why _did_ you ask me to come here? Why are you paying for my food?"

The speedster smiled wearily at her. "I told you at the park. It's my job to help people in trouble."

"Why would you think I was in trouble?"

"A feeling," the boy said, then echoed his earlier words, "I'm an excellent judge of character, you know."

Terra bit her tongue before replying. "Well, I feel like a paranoid jerk right now."

"Paranoid? What'd you think I was going to do?"

"Nothing...I- er, you know how your mind just goes to the worst conclusions sometimes? I thought you were going to arrest me or something. I mean, why else would a superhero waste their time on random kids they met in parks? Or, I don't know, you were asking me out." She faltered under his gaze and added a quick: "I don't know."

Kid Flash tapped on the table and then stated, "I can't properly arrest people. Just hand them over to the police."

"Same thing, isn't it?"

"My...the Flash would chew you out if you said that to him," Kid Flash told her humorously, breaking the small bit of tension. "Heh, kind of funny that we both thought the other thought this was a date."

"But it's not?"

"Just-a-friendly-little-food-tasting!" His hands blurred as he piled more food on his plate, "you're-not-really-my-type-anyway." Terra felt slightly put out at this, not that she really cared whether or not she was Kid Flash's 'type'. Kid Flash quickly tried to undo his mistake by wagging a chicken leg in front of her. "Want some?"

Terra accepted and started ripping off the crunchy skin with her teeth. "Oh, and why not?" She asked teasingly but with an underlying of genuine curiosity.

"Don't get me wrong. You seem like a great girl...it's just that...well, you remind of someone."

"Who?"

"An old friend of mine. You look a lot like her- blonde, blue eyes." Kid Flash stirred his soda with the straw, his eyes glazed over with nostalgia. "There's something else too...but I'm not sure what exactly."

Terra raised an eyebrow, unsure if that made her feel better. "What do you mean?"

"Just a vibe I'm getting," he muttered.

"Weird." Terra dropped her chicken, accidentally spilling it in the ketchup leftover from the fries. With a shrug, she picked it back up and started eating again. "What happened to her?"

Kid Flash frowned, "it's a long story. Not something I'd like to talk about."

"Consider it taboo," Terra said giving him the a-okay signal and continuing to eat. "So..." she added, "any other reason why I'm not your type?"

Kid Flash shot her grin. "Hmm. I think I just prefer girls who are more _alternative_ or _different_."

"Like what, exactly? Everyone has a different opinion on what those words mean."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Oh- ever hear of the Teen Titans?"

Terra cocked her head to the side; the _who_? "Never heard of them," she admitted, "who are they?"

"They're a new superhero group in California. There's five members and-" he suddenly shook his head, "okay, see, my buddy Robin...ah, you _have_ heard of Robin, right?"

Terra snorted. "Of course. But he's in Gotham, isn't he?"

"Robbie flew the old Bat-coop," Kid Flash explained, "ditched the short pants, went all the way to Jump City, teamed up with a couple of other teenaged heroes for a few missions and ended up starting his own team."

"Really?" Terra questioned curiously. She quickly jotted down a list of teenaged heroes in her head. "Who? Wonder Girl? Speedy? Aqualad?"

"Actually, most of them are unknowns. Except for..." his face scrunched up in thought before realization hit and he snapped his fingers together, "Beast Boy. You know, the green kid from the Doom Patrol? Anyway, there's also this half-robot guy who goes by Cyborg and this alien girl named Starfire- actually, according to Robin, they first teamed up against her. I dunno exactly how she ended up on the team. And then there's Raven." Terra's eyebrows rose at the conspiratorial smirk Kid Flash wore.

"And Raven...?" Terra motioned with her hands for him to continue, "how is she 'alternative and different'?"

Kid Flash mulled it over before replying. "She has this certain _je-ne-sais-quoi_...probably the cloak. It makes her look all mysterious in a hot Gothic kind of way."

Terra took another sip of her drink. "Oh-kay...wait..._wait_, did you say Beast Boy?"

"Yuh-huh..." Kid Flash nodded absentmindedly, already concentrated on his food again.

"Why is _he_ with the Titans? Did he quit the Doom Patrol?"

"Who knows?" Kid Flash waved his hand dismissively in the air, "The Doom Patrol's a secretive bunch."

Terra supposed it didn't matter so she went back to her meal. She and Kid Flash chatted about many things, and she found that she enjoyed his company very much. At one point, he had even challenged her to a speed-eating contest (she had refused, of course). Kid Flash was very fun and had a great sense of humour- and there was something about him that made her ease up on her façade. After an hour and half of laughter and hefty eatery, where they cleared half of the buffet, Kid Flash's ear began to _chime_.

'_I've heard of people's ears ringing but this is just ridiculous!_' She couldn't help but smile at her own pun. It was the type she knew Robin would approve of.

"But Flash...yeah, I can handle it but-" he stood up, "-fine, I'll see you in a week." He turned back to Terra and started to apologize. "Captain Cold is making a blizzard downtown and Flash is away on Justice League business..."

"Say no more, fleet-feet," Terra told him as she wiped her mouth free of any crumbs, "you have to deal with it."

"Glad you understand." He was about to leave when Terra jolted from her seat and reached for his arm.

"Wait! Kid Flash! Maybe I can help!"

"I'm sorry, Terra, but I can't let a civilian get involved. Plus Cold is a serious threat, all things considered."

Terra took a deep breath. "I _can_ help! I'm not exactly your average civilian. Follow me. I'll show you." She led him outside and scanned the area for a rock or pebble lying around. Lifting a hand, she made a group of small pebbles float towards her from different areas of the parking lot and spin in a circle just above her palm.

"You're a geomancer," Kid Flash stated in slight surprise. "...sweet!"

Terra smiled sheepishly at his response and asked, "so?"

"Well, if you're sure-" Terra suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground but before she could question it, she was standing upright on a street-corner. She could see a speck coming from the horizon and queried as to what it was. Kid Flash grimaced, "Captain Cold, leader of the Flash's Rogue Gallery. He's been on a crime spree ever since his sister Golden Glider died."

Captain Cold, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue and white parka and thick blue skiing goggles, was driving down the street on a motorcycle. He was holding a large gun in the hand not directing the bike, and spraying every storefront and resident with his cyclotron ray. Terra blinked and the motorcycle was at her side, leaving the rogue on the middle of the street without a ride.

"Ah, the Flash finally makes his appearance. You know I've already iced the last three blocks, right?" Captain Cold bragged in a gruff tone, expecting to see his archenemy appear.

Kid Flash stopped beside her and the two young heroes prepared themselves for battle. "Hey Captain. Sorry, the Flash couldn't make it."

"Baby Flash?"

Kid Flash grimaced, and mumbled something about no one ever getting his name right. Despite this, he countered with a quip. "That's right, _Mr. Freeze_."

"Don't compare me to that bottom-dwelling brainiac!" Pointing at his motorcycle, he added, "and I want my bike back! Those things aren't cheap!"

"Sorry, I don't listen to criminals." Kid Flash pretended to inspect his fingernails despite the fact that he was wearing gloves. "Especially the _lame_ ones."

Captain Cold growled and charged up his Cold Gun. "See, that's the difference between you and the Flash, kid. You're all talk and no game." A burst of light shot from his gun and Terra instinctively ducked. When she stood back up, Kid Flash was frozen in place in a slab of ice.

The rogue turned to Terra next, "and who's the cute little blonde? Your girlfriend? You know, you look a lot like my sister..." his scowl grew deeper. "I don't like being reminded of her."

He shot another ray of ice and she dodged it again. Activating her powers, the ground beneath Captain Cold began to quaver. "We're just friends," she snapped. From the corner of the eye, she saw Kid Flash's body begin to vibrate and the ice start to melt. To distract the rogue, she tried her hand at taunting him. "What's the matter? Don't you get any earthquakes in the Arctic?"

"Where'd Junior find you?" Captain Cold asked, starting to lose his balance. "Little girl superheroes dot net?"

"Actually, I prefer to meet people the old fashioned way..." she heard Kid Flash's voice and turned her head slightly, beaming upon seeing him dry and refreshed. "Nice job, Terra. Now I'll finish this, if you don't mind." He ran in circles around Captain Cold, disarming him and pantsing him in seconds flat.

Captain Cold, attempting to pull his pants back on, fell over, as the earthquake grew stronger and larger. Kid Flash snickered, "okay, I think he's had enough."

Terra nodded and tried to power down, but although her glowing hands faded in colour, the earthquake continued to spread down the street.

"Terra? Terra, stop the earthquake!"

"I'm trying," she exclaimed, attempting to keep her voice even. She closed her eyes and focused, ignoring the minor hysteria that had begun to occur as her powers shook the entire block to their core. "Stop-stop-stop," she whispered under her breath, the earthquake not affecting her.

"Terra!"

The earthquake came to a stop and Terra snapped her eyes open. Kid Flash was on his hands and knees, holding on to a fire hydrant for dear life. He jumped up and stared dumb-foundedly at Terra, "So...tell me that wasn't on purpose."

Terra ducked her head, "trust me, it wasn't."

"I have to get Captain Cold to the police station," Kid Flash said uncertainly, "...we can-"

"Don't bother," Terra said bitterly, "I'll see you around...or not." She buried her gloved hands in her parka and started to walk away. She knew it was pointless, if Kid Flash was adamant to talk to her, he could easily catch up but that did not stop her from fastening her pace to a jog. She turned around once, and saw Kid Flash surrounded by reporters and fans who were probably praising him for his victory, and asking about the earthquake.

She turned the corner and took a detour through the parking lot of a supermarket. She knew Kid Flash, the person and the hero he was, would try to search for her after her handed in Captain Cold and dealt with the press. Hopefully, her trail would be lost and he would give up. So, Terra continued to sprint through the streets, hoping she wouldn't get lost. She felt her breathing hitch as familiar fears and worries filled her head. '_He knows. They know. They'll send you away again. Get out of the city. They can't know. Not now._' She passed the welcoming sign that bragged 'home of the Flash' and the small dwelling she had made in the forest, only stopping to gather up her things, and just kept running.

Terra would be merely a forgotten memory for the neighbouring cities.

* * *

**Terra's getting a little paranoid, isn't she? First mention of the Titans! This takes place sometime after 'Go' but before 'Divide and Conquer'. Just have to get from Missouri to California…shouldn't be too hard, should it?**

**It was recently reported that the CW are considering making a new television show based on Raven! :P It could work...but it really depends on how they go at it. Raven's a complex character and a fan-favourite but she also works best as a team player. It would feel strange having her without the Titans at her side. Plus, I have a feeling they would make it very teenage angst emo-drama style and make her go to high school under the 'Rachel Roth' persona. And who would be the supporting characters? Who would be made her love interest? Meh, we'll see if it even gets anywhere, unlike the 'Aquaman' and 'The Graysons' television shows.**

**[1] I know what you're thinking. 'When thinking about this story, you planned a Kid Flash/Terra scene? What is the matter with you? Where did this come from?' See, while reading the 80's New Teen Titans comics, I found myself loving the subtle friendship between Tara and Wally. So, I just had to write them interact in this story.**

**[2] Hinting [80's canon] Rae/KF? Teasing Flinx? Guilty for both. Do I wish that I'd also hinted at Wally/Linda? YES! I love them (and their kids) now! But c'est la vie. I'll mention the ship in another story someday!**

**[3] The friend Wally mentions is Frances Kane, his childhood friend who later becomes an unwilling heroine named Magenta, who has the ability of telekinesis. She and Wally start dating after the mess that was KF/Rae but ultimately, her powers are so unstable that it causes her to develop a split personality. She comes back every so often to either help Wally or try and kill him, ex-girlfriend-from-hell style. She reminds me of animated series Terra since they both can't control their powers, have confidence issues, stints as a hero or a villain and are just not meant to be a superhero. Plus, they've both been in a triangle that involves Raven. ;)**

**[4] Robin, Wonder Girl, Speedy and Aqualad were the founders of the original Teen Titans team back in the 1960's. Kid Flash, too! Looks like Terra's channeling Earth-1. She'll do that a lot later on.**


	17. Chapter Fifteen: Cotton Candy

_Disclaimer: I do not own Terra, formerly Tara Markov, for she belongs to DC Comics and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. This particular version of the character belongs to Warner Brothers and Cartoon Network as well._

**Author's Note: What is this? A chapter update? Can it truly be? **

**Man, I cannot believe how long it took me to write this chapter. I put it off at every opportunity, and I just couldn't get any words down when I tried to sit down and write. BUUUT how many months later, I finally completed this! Hopefully, it doesn't happen again.**

**Terra arrives in Jump City this chapter and she knows about the Teen Titans- but how much longer will it take until she meets them? Haha, like I'd actually tell you that. Read on and see!**

* * *

Terra's map of the United States was now covered with ink blotches and scribbles of almost every colour imaginable. The frayed piece of paper showed every place she had passed, all the cities she had lived in and every hero she had encountered. While Kid Flash had been the last hero she personally talked to, there had been many others she had seen flying above the skies or patrolling the empty streets.

Now thirteen, people paid less attention to Terra when she walked alone in public. She got a second glance now and again if she was carrying her bag, but no one really seemed to find the runaway out of the ordinary. The clothes she had bought in Markovia no longer fit so she discarded them and bought new outfits that were deemed more westernized. With that and the need for nutrition, it seemed that the unthinkable had finally occurred. She was running low on money. Despite that she had spent the past four years doing everything in her power to stall the fateful day, she had no choice now than to accept it. Almost all the money she had taken from Markovia had been spent, and all her trinkets and jewels had been pawned off.

"You're toast," she told herself one cold night, watching the campfire dance before her. She licked her thumb and went over the five ten dollar bills that remained. "Yep. Dead meat."

That was another thing that changed about her. Even in her lonely thoughts, the language she spoke in now was always English. Her Markovian accent was absent and sometimes she felt as if she had been living in America her entire life, and not just a few short years. She was currently, if the signs were anything to go by, in California. Consulting her map, she knew that there were a few cities nearby but her eye kept drawing to one specific dot.

_Jump City._

The fire flickered and then crackled as Terra clutched the blanket around her tighter.

* * *

Terra sometimes questioned her own sanity. Truly, a reasonable person who has already gotten herself in trouble with multiple groups of vigilantes wouldn't decide to make her next destination a city that she knew had not one- but _five_- superheroes at its beck and call. It was morbid curiosity that brought her on route to Jump City, wanting to see this new crime-fighting team in action. They had to be great for Robin to leave Batman, Batgirl and the rest of Gotham City behind.

'_And Beast Boy..._' Why had he left the Doom Patrol? For the same reason Robin had left his mentor?

She was driven out of her thoughts by an enticing aroma. Her stomach groaned with frustration and her feet began shuffling towards the scent. "French fries...and cotton candy...hmmm..." she breathed. Soon, her ears were met with a jovial tune set on a continuous loop, partly muted underneath laughter and multiple screams. "What the- oh, wow!"

The bright lights were blinding and it took her eyes a moment to get used to them. Terra walked past the crowds of people, gaping at all the colourful machinery. She had seen a few theme parks before -interior ones in malls and temporary ones that spent a weekend in a parking lot or empty field before being relocated- but never an actual amusement park. A 'MEGACOASTER' sign flashed from the corner of her pupil, highlighting a grand wooden roller coaster. A train of small yellow cars streaked with red zoomed past her, kids and adults alike were screaming at the top of their lungs.

Beside that was a carousel, where mostly children giggled and sat on revolving horses and carriages. The man at the ice cream cart caught her eye and smiled cheerily before handing a young couple a pair of popsicles. She could even see the top of a big Ferris wheel over other rides and game booths.

"Wow," she repeated under her breath.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Terra jumped upon hearing the voice, which came just behind her. Flipping around, she saw an old woman sitting in a ticket booth. "This your first time, kid?"

Terra glanced around to make sure that the woman was speaking to her. "Yeah," she replied, "I've been to a few that were kind of like this but…wow. Never at night."

"I'll be sure to tell Manny you like his light work."

"Manny?"

A low chuckle was followed by the woman's reply: "he's our handyman."

Terra giggled at the thought, "and his name is Manny?"

"it fits," the woman smirked. Looking closer, she did not look as elderly as Terra had first thought. She had platinum blonde hair down to her shoulders and had a pink visor over her forehead, matching her light coloured t-shirt. There was a dimple mole on her left cheek and her eyebrows were drawn in with eyeliner pencil. Pink lipstick was pressed to her lips in a copious amount but it didn't look as bad on her as it would most women. "So, you going to buy some tickets?"

Terra's hand twitched closer to her pocket, even though she knew she couldn't afford it. "Um," the teen hesitated, "h-how much?"

"Depends on how many rides you wanna go on," the woman explained, and jabbed one long manicured finger at the price list hanging from the window. Terra scanned the list and quickly felt disappointment settling in. Her pinkie finger twitched again, the bitten off nail scraping against her money.

"Just two tickets, please," she said before realizing she had even spoken.

"That all, Hon?"

"I-I don't really have any more money," Terra said hastily.

"It's okay, Hon. You can just come back later. We're not going anywhere."

Terra shook her head. "_I wish_. This place is amazing...but I don't think that I'll be able to afford coming here again."

The woman clicked her tongue. "Huh," she said with a strange tone, "well, enjoy your stay at the park, Hon." With that, she handed Terra a pair of small blue tickets, stamped her hand and then waved her off with a sad smile.

Terra immediately went towards the line for the roller coaster, although she wasn't sure what it was about the fast moving ride that attracted her. When she reached the front of the line, she was ushered into one of the middle cars, along with another girl who was by herself. The unknown girl was around fourteen, with dyed jet black hair that was streaked with red highlights and went down to her shoulders. She was wearing ripped jeans, converse and a baggy t-shirt with a logo on it.

"Planning on beating your record, Gwenny?" The ride attendee smirked at her. He was around twenty years old, with blonde hair and the air of a troublemaker. He was wearing the same shirt as the girl, except his was newer.

"You know it, Jay," she teased back, "I just need to go in this ride two more times to make it an even twenty this week."

"Better watch it," he warned her, "you're going to get bored of this ride one day."

She scoffed. "Yeah, right. Just start the ride, Jason."

He shrugged and after securing everyone's seatbelts, he went to the controller and started it. As they started to slowly climb up the steep railing, the girl 'Gwenny' turned to her.

"Hi, sorry you had to see that."

"It's okay," Terra shrugged, "you come here a lot?"

"You could say that," the girl chuckled, "I live here. My grandpa created the park and my mom owns it now. I've been living here since I was born. What about you- this is the first time I've seen you around."

"I've been on the road," Terra said flawlessly, "just arrived in California a little while ago."

"Aw, cool." The girl looked impressed. "Name's Gwen, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Terra grinned back, "I'm TERRAAA-AHHHH!" She was interrupted by the cart's sudden drop. She spent the next minute screaming at the top of her lungs, her arms raised high in the air. It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world- second to the feeling of geokinesis in her hands.

As the car slowed to a stop what felt like a lifetime later, Gwen helped her out of her seat. "Want to go again?" She asked, cocking her head over to Jason and signalling him over with a wave of her hand.

"Can't," Terra declined, "no money."

Gwen looked confused for a brief moment before scoffing indifferently. "Doesn't matter. Hey, Jay! Me and my friend here are going on the ride again, okay?"

Jason shrugged, "if your mom's cool with it, I can't stop you."

"She is!" Gwen marshalled Terra back to the seats and plopped back in their car, "strap in, Terra. This is going to be a bumpy ride."

* * *

"That's awesome." Gwen said, handing Terra cotton candy, "I haven't exactly had a normal lifestyle either but to live out there? No supervision, just travelling around the world? One word, _lucky_."

"I guess," Terra muttered. Her eyes lighting up, she turned the conversation back to Gwen. "Your life seems so cool too! Free cotton candy anytime you want! I have to scrap for my food!"

"Okay, okay. I admit I have it pretty good." Gwen agreed, "you wanna go on another ride? The Spin Cycle's pretty fun."

The sweet ball of fluff melted in Terra's tongue. "Is that a good idea?"

"Sure, no one will mind. Most of the carnies are runaways, so they know what's it like not to have money or a stable home. Plus, I don't get to hang out with kids my age a lot. I'm homeschooled."

"So was I," Terra exclaimed, feeling a sudden inkling to Gwen, "well, up to when I left home. The only people I could hang out with were my brothers and sometimes visiting kids."

"Ugh, play-dates?" Gwen scrunched up her nose. "No wonder you left."

The two girls were sitting against one of the game booths, watching everyone pass them. After going on the Megacoaster about three more times, Gwen had lead her over to a candy stand and ordered them some cotton candy- free of charge. Gwen was really intrigued by Terra's past and had spent the last ten minutes being impressed by any story Terra thought she could share. She also told Terra about her life at the park- which Terra found equally interesting.

Gwen seemed to exude coolness and a down to earth quality that Terra couldn't help but find endearing. She was usually drawn more to the energetic type but Gwen just seemed so open and accepting of everything that Terra immediately felt comfortable around her.

"Come on," Gwen grabbed Terra's wrist, "oh, you don't get nauseous, do you? Wait, you've never been on the ride, how would you know, eh?"

She started to pull Terra through the crowd.

"We could go on the Heartstopper. They don't call it that for nothing!"

* * *

Terra returned to the park every day of that week. The second day, she felt afraid at first, wondering if it had been a one-time deal but when she found Gwen, the other girl was quick to lead her over to the Megacoaster. When Terra told her about her worries, the brunette scoffed and waved them away.

"Don't worry about it," Gwen repeated once they got on the ride. Jason came over and helped buckle them in, and after sharing a small little joke with Gwen, the girl continued. "I asked my mom about it and she said you're welcome to the park as long as you want."

"But all the money I must be costing you," Terra argued, "doesn't that matter to you?"

"Dude, look around. We're fine on the cash front. Everyone from Jump City comes here. It's like their own personal Disneyland. The only time we have to worry is winter-time and when a fair comes to town." Gwen played with her bangs, which were slightly damaged from her hair dye. "So...calm down, okay? It's not like we're going to throw you out."

"If you're sure." Terra's lips curled together. She said nothing more because soon, the ride began and the only sounds she could muster were shrieks while adrenaline pulsed through her.

She and Gwen went on every ride- the most thrill-seeking ones more times than she could count. Gwen even introduced Terra to the other carnies, who were a quirky but fascinating group of people.

Besides Jason, whom she already felt like she knew from the quips and chats they had whenever they went to the roller coaster, and Gwen's mother- whom Terra found out was the ticket seller and whose name was Pamela, there was about fifteen workers at the park.

No, Gwen had corrected her, they were a _family_.

There was Manny, a robust man with brown hair and a trimmed beard. He spent most of the day designing rides or fixing them. The times that Terra had seen him, he had entertained them with captivating stories of his past while they helped him work. He had an assistant named Francis, but he was out of the country, visiting relatives in Europe.

Rhonda and a group of four teenagers headed all the game and food stalls. Rhonda was a thin woman in her late twenties- a college student who was trying to make a name for herself in business. The teens were high school or college students as well, wanting to have fun as well as earn money. Terra did not know their names, but they all seemed like pretty nice people. Along with Jason, there was an operator per ride- Andy, Bill, Kat, Leroy, Jade and Cal. Terra didn't know much about them either, except that Kat always wore a hat and that Leroy had a tattoo of a skull and crossbones on his bicep.

The only carnie that Terra had yet to meet was the mysterious Madame Xanadu. Gwen told her the woman was a travelling gypsy who used to own her own shop but had taken residence at the park as their fortune teller for about a year. Both girls agreed that the situation regarding the woman was creepy but Gwen assured Terra that Pamela was fond of Madame Xanadu and there was nothing to be afraid of even if the woman preferred to be alone.

* * *

"Gwen, I need you to take a shift at the ticket booth," Pamela stuck her head into the trailer, "your father just called and I need to go pick up Brian."

Gwen groaned but nodded nonetheless. "Sure, Mom." Noticing Terra's inquisitive eyebrow raise, she added, "Brian's my little brother. He was staying with our dad this weekend. I would have gone too but with Francis gone, I'm picking up the slack around here."

"Not to mention she's behind on her schoolwork," Pam smirked, "quick as a whip, Gwenny is, but she also procrastinates."

Gwen shrugged. "Everyone's got their faults. And it's not just Francis, Mom." She pushed herself away from the table, her chair scraping against the ground, "I heard that one of Rhonda's happy little workers is quitting. Er- Lori, I think. Her parents are moving to Metropolis."

Pamela sighed, "oh, right. We still need someone to head the stacked cups stand though." Suddenly, both mother and daughter locked eyes and slowly revolved their heads to look at Terra, who blinked back, her mouth bulging after stuffing it with a handful of popcorn.

"Huh?"

"How old are you, Hon?" Pamela asked curiously.

Terra swallowed her popcorn and met the older woman's eye. "Thirteen?"

"Hmm. Would your parents mind you having a part-time job?"

"My p-parents?" Terra repeated, "um...they wouldn't mind, I guess."

"Er," Gwen bit her lip, "Terra's kinda sort of a runaway. She's been living at a campsite just a few miles away." The two girls exchanged a glance and Gwen's voice raised an octave. "My mom wants to know if you'd like to head a game booth."

Terra's eyes widened. "A job?"

"Yeah," Gwen nodded, "it'd be fun to have you around. We could bet on who can last longer on the coaster without tossing their cookies."

Pamela coughed, turning all attention to her. "Listen, Terra, I know what it feels like to be by yourself- to be alone. We'd love to have you join our family. What'd you say, Terra?"

Terra looked from Pamela to her daughter and then finally, settled her gaze out the window, where she could see the lit up Ferris Wheel turn.

"I'd love to."

* * *

**After this chapter, there will be a different tone to the story. Terra will no longer be jumping from one place to another, and therefore, the characters introduced in this chapter will be around for a little while. I'll be sure to expand on some of the characters more.**

**Young Justice! Oh, I love that series so much. Kid Flash and Robin's friendship is so bro-mantic, I love it. And seeing Miss Martian and Superboy animated makes me squee- even though I'm still not used to their relationship. xD I totally ship Wally/Artemis though. Oh my god, Artemis! I love her! AND the new Aqualad is so awesome and rawr. ;) He talks and I melt. Ah, and Roy! ROY! Roy is so bad-ass! DEM ARMS. I have nothing but good things to say about this series-even if Bart's not in it and it's nothing like the YJ comics. AND I FORGOT TO MENTION DADDY BATMAN. =3**

**Teen Titans is good again! Yay! Wish I could say the same about 'Titans'… but I've chosen to ignore that series for the time being. I also love that the Titans are getting some face time in the DC Universe Online Video Game. I've only seen certain cut scenes and battles on YouTube- but every time a Titan appeared, I squeed. Especially Donna. Donna's existence outside the comics make me happy.**

**AND BEAST BOY WILL APPEAR IN YOUNG JUSTICE. BEST NEWS EVAAAAH.**

**That was me- summarizing how much television/games/comics have been good to the Teen Titans in the past few months.**


End file.
